Department for Transport

Railways: Standards

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the efficiency of the rail network; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: We are securing franchises that are designed to deliver an improving quality of service for the passenger and are good value for the taxpayer. As rail demand continues to grow we are investing record amounts in expanding the railway whilst the Office of Rail Regulation has set Network Rail a challenging target for increasing efficiency during the five year investment period.

Air Routes: Northern Ireland

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of a takeover of Aer Lingus by IAG on slots at Heathrow Airport for flights to Northern Ireland.

Mr Robert Goodwill: No assessment has been made to assess the potential effects of a takeover of Aer Lingus by IAG on slots at Heathrow Airport for flights to Northern Ireland. EU Regulations govern the allocation, transfer and exchange of slots at Heathrow and other slot co-ordinated airports in the UK. The purpose of the EU Slot Regulations is to support the operation of a single market for aviation by seeking to ensure airlines have fair and equal access to airports across the EU through the application of independent, non-discriminatory and transparent slot allocation procedures. The Regulations stipulate that the actual process of slot allocation is undertaken entirely independently of the Government, the UK Civil Aviation Authority or other parties. In circumstances where vital air connectivity would be lost, EU law does provide some limited scope to protect regional air services by allowing Member States to establish public service obligations (PSOs) to protect air services to airports serving a peripheral or development region, or on thin routes considered vital for a region’s economic and social development. Where a PSO has been approved, this would permit slots to be ring-fenced at a London airport. There is no other mechanism for the Government to intervene in the allocation of slots at London airports. As part of the 2013 Spending Round the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced that £20million would be made available over the two years 2014-15 and 2015-16 through a Regional Air Connectivity Fund to maintain regional air access to London through the establishment of PSOs where there was the probability that an existing air service would be lost. The 2014 Budget announced a doubling of the Regional Air Connectivity Fund to maintain existing connectivity to London.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the amount (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.

Claire Perry: The Government has overhauled public procurement to open it up to businesses of all sizes. On 25 February 2015, we announced that central government spent an unprecedented £11.4 billion with SMEs in 2013-14, a record 26.1% of direct and indirect spend. This meets our aspiration, set in 2010, that 25% of government procurement spend would be with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.The data on central government spend with SMEs in 2013-14 is available on the GOV.UK website:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014

Railways: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the feasibility of reopening the branch rail line passing through Dudley town centre.

Claire Perry: The Government announced in January 2015 that it was providing Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership funding to establish a Very Light Rail Innovation Centre in the Black Country which will help to create new public transport technologies for the future. The promoters will also look at the possibility of re-opening the branch line in the future.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of undisputed invoices his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Claire Perry: The information for the Department for Transport and its agency bodies, together with further details, is available on the Government website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prompt-payment-statistics Network Rail became an arms-length body of the Department on 1 September 2014. Therefore, the first time that Network Rail published prompt payment information against the 5 day target was in February 2015. The last period for which information is available is for period 11 (a 4 week period ending 31 January 2015), during which period 11% of invoices were paid within 5 days. Following reclassification of the organisation to the public sector, Network Rail is working to improve on this figure and the effects should start to become evident when period 12 information is published.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what requirements his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies place on suppliers in respect of their payment terms to subcontractors as part of their standard terms and conditions.

Claire Perry: The Department’s General Conditions of Contract require that a supplier employing sub-contractors to carry out work for the Department pays all sums due to the sub-contractor as soon as possible and in any event not exceeding 30 days from the receipt of a valid invoice. The Department also uses framework agreements awarded by other Government departments containing their own contract conditions such as the Crown Commercial Service and are moving towards the introduction of standard contract conditions that apply across central Government and expect these to be fully compliant with Regulation 113 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Claire Perry: The Department has been a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code since 18 August 2010. However, my Department does not maintain records of whether or not its suppliers are signatories to this code.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of suppliers to his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Claire Perry: We will only investigate a supplier’s payment performance where we receive a complaint from a sub-contractor. Department for Transport standard T&Cs say:‘The Department reserves the right to ask for information about payment performance and will provide a facility for sub-contractors to report poor performance to the Department.’ The ‘How we buy’ guide soon to be published on GOV.UK says:‘General Conditions of Contract include a condition requiring suppliers employing sub-contractors to pay them promptly too. Any sub-contractors who are not being paid within a 30 day period should raise their concern with the Department, by emailing dftprocurement@dft.gsi.gov.uk. Please include the name, and reference number of the contract, and the nature of the complaint. Should this not be resolved to the supplier’s satisfaction, this can be escalated to the Mystery Shopper service email MysteryShopper@crowncommercial.gov.uk or telephone 0345 010 3503

Roads: Safety

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve road safety for elderly pedestrians.

Mr Robert Goodwill: My Department issued revised guidance in January 2013 aimed mainly at local traffic authorities who are responsible for setting speed limits on local roads. Traffic authorities set local speed limits in situations where local needs and conditions suggest a speed limit which is lower than the national speed limit. Local authorities may provide pedestrian crossings, including dropped kerbs, where there is a local need. Pedestrian crossings and crossing timings are a matter for guidance rather than legislation. The Department intends to produce a new Chapter of the Traffic Signs manual on traffic lights and crossings but there is no date yet for publication. In London there is a general ban on parking on the footway. In the rest of England there is no such prohibition but traffic authorities have wide-ranging powers to prevent people parking on the pavement and my Rt Hon Friend the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer, wrote to all English traffic authorities on 27 June 2014 to remind them of this.The Government is committed to cycling and walking and making it easier for people to choose them as sustainable travel options. The Government laid an amendment to the Infrastructure Bill that would place into law a commitment of the Government to produce a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. The Bill has now completed its passage through both Houses and was granted Royal Assent on 12 February.

Cycleways

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 March 2015, Official Report, column 1064, on cycling and walking, for what reasons those provisions to cycle lanes in part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 have not yet been implemented; and when he expects those powers to be implemented.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The implementation of the provisions for civil enforcement of mandatory cycle lanes in Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 would result in the installation by local authorities of camera-based systems to identify contraventions by motorists. Such changes would not be introduced without first consulting with motorists, cyclists and local authorities to establish the merits, or otherwise, of increasing camera-based enforcement. Those powers will not be implemented in this Parliament.

Aviation: West Africa

Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with British Airways on the resumption of direct flights to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There have been no discussions with British Airways about the resumption of direct scheduled services. Since British Airways decided to suspend their operations, they have given us no indication of an intention to resume flights to Sierra Leone. Should the situation change sufficiently for the UK Government to become content for direct scheduled services to Ebola-affected countries to resume, it would then be for individual airlines to judge whether it is viable to start services, subject to them requesting the appropriate operating permissions from the relevant authorities.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) individual drivers and (b) the road haulage sector of complying with EU Directive 2003/59/EC.

Claire Perry: The previous Administration consulted about the implementation of EU Directive 2003/59/EC, which, by introducing a qualification and continued periodic training, aimed to improve the professionalism of lorry and bus drivers. The Directive was implemented by the previous Administration based on an initial qualification by theoretical and practical driving tests which assessed competence. Annual costs to the haulage industry, associated with drivers undertaking initial qualification, were estimated to be around £21 million. To maintain the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, drivers are required to undertake 35 hours periodic training every five years. Annual costs to the haulage industry were estimated to be around £109 million. We expect those costs to be off-set by social, environmental and cost benefits for road safety, improved fuel consumption, reduced wear and tear on vehicles, and improved journey times as a consequence of adoption of the Directive. Fuel savings of around £385 million were estimated for the haulage industry. In 2013, Ministers sought to identify and remove unnecessary burdens for those who drove lorries or buses as an incidental part of their employment. The measures introduced, which removed the requirement for these drivers to obtain an initial qualification or undertake periodic training to maintain the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, were estimated to have an annual net benefit to UK businesses of around £23 million.

Home Office

Borders: Personal Records

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people departing the UK did so with a matching API data record in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office collects Advance Passenger Information for passengers who travel to and from the UK on routes connected to the Semaphore system. The figures for passenger departing the UK are only available from May 2010. The estimated number of passengers departing the UK with a registered Advance Passenger Information record in each year from 2010 is shown in the following table. Period Coverage 2010 65,558,650 (May onwards)2011 70,627,943 2012 67,960,290 2013 82,311,725 2014 99,328,030

Mediterranean Sea

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of migrants who have drowned in the Mediterranean since the end of Operation Mare Nostrum and the start of Operation Triton.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 06 March 2015



Operation Triton began on 1 November 2014 following unanimous calls from all 28 EU Member States that Italy’s Operation Mare Nostrum should be phased out. There have been no estimates made by the Government or by Frontex (the EU External Border Agency) with regard to the number of people who have drowned in the Mediterranean since the end of Operation Mare Nostrum and the start of Operation Triton as such estimates would be extremely difficult to make with any degree of certainty. All deaths of this nature are, of course, utterly tragic and the Government is determined to do all it can with international partners to reduce the flow of illegal migrants taking such risks and to combat the organised criminals who are making huge profits by exploiting vulnerable people.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the amount (a) her Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.

Karen Bradley: The Government has overhauled public procurement to open it up to businesses of all sizes. On 25 February 2015, we announced that central government spent an unprecedented £11.4 billion with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in 2013-14, a record 26.1% of direct and indirect spend. This meets our aspiration, set in 2010, that 25% of government procurement spend would be with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.The data on central government spend with SMEs in 2013-14 is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014.The Home Office has exceeded its SME spend target in each year since the targets were introduced, in conjunction with reducing overall spending with Third Party Suppliers over the same period.

Asylum

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been dispersed to each region in each of the last six months.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 06 March 2015



The dispersal policy for asylum seekers was set out by the last Labour Government in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.Quarterly published data is only available up to December 2014 which is accessible via the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2014-data-tables

Asylum

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional funding has been provided to local authorities, schools and the NHS to fund costs relating to asylum seekers in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 06 March 2015



The Government has a legal obligation to provide support to asylum applicants who would otherwise be destitute. Support is provided in form of subsistence allowance and accommodation. The Government provides funding for Strategy Migration Partnerships which act as a focal point for all local authorities in the relevant region to consider and resolve any issues relating to dispersals and migration. The funding for 2014/15 was £1.325 million.The Government also provides additional funding to local authorities to support Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, those leaving care and asylum seekers who are turning 18. The total funding for these in 2013/14 financial year was £77.2 million. Cost from 2014/15 are yet to be audited and unpublished.Information for any extra funding for health and education will be available from the Department of Health and Department for Education respectively.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of suppliers to her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office insists that its suppliers have a payment policy in place to ensure payment is made within 30 days.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of suppliers to her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Karen Bradley: A 30 day payment clause is included within Home Office standard long-form Terms and Conditions and is applicable to sub-contractors to Home Office suppliers with contracts above the EU threshold. Please refer to the clause below which is extracted from Home Office standard long form Terms and Conditions for the provision of services.1.1 Where the Contractor enters into a sub-contract with a supplier or contractor for the purpose of performing its obligations under the Contract, it shall ensure that a provision is included in such a sub-contract which requires payment to be made of all sums due by the Contractor to the sub-contractor within a specified period not exceeding 30 days from the receipt of a valid invoice.The Home Office does not monitor whether its suppliers are signatories to the prompt payment code. We do however ask suppliers with a spend above £500,000 if they have a payment policy in place to ensure payment is made within 30 days. This is monitored via the Corporate Assessment of Environmental, Social and Economic Responsibility (CAESER) assessment tool. CAESER invites suppliers to the Home Office to voluntarily complete the assessment. The tool is used to capture our major contractors corporate social responsibility policies and procedures via an online questionnaire. Home Office contract managers are required to review their supplier(s) report and discuss any areas of risk identified and to work with them to mitigate those risks.91 suppliers to the Home Office completed the CAESER assessment in 2014. 69 of these suppliers confirmed that they had a policy in place to ensure that suppliers are paid within a maximum of 30 days.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what requirements her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies place on suppliers in respect of their payment terms to subcontractors as part of their standard terms and conditions.

Karen Bradley: A 30 day prompt payment clause is included within Home Office standard long-form Terms and Conditions and is applicable to contracts above the EU threshold. The clause, which is extracted from Home Office standard long form Terms and Conditions for the provision of services, is set out below.1.1 Where the Contractor enters into a sub-contract with a supplier or contractor for the purpose of performing its obligations under the Contract, it shall ensure that a provision is included in such a sub-contract which requires payment to be made of all sums due by the Contractor to the sub-contractor within a specified period not exceeding 30 days from the receipt of a valid invoice.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of undisputed invoices her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Karen Bradley: We paid 91.5% of invoices within 5 working days in 2013-14. This information can be found on page 38 of the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14, which was published on 17 June 2014. A reference copy is available in the House Library, and copies can be obtained from the Vote office. It can also be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014.

Mark Jenner

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the decision to send Mark Jenner of the Special Demonstration Squad into a covert long-term surveillance operation in the 1990s was approved by (a) officials and (b) Ministers in her Department.

Mike Penning: Holding answer received on 09 March 2015



The Home Office does not hold this information. On 10 March 2014 the Permanent Secretary commissioned Stephen Taylor, a former Director of Audit at the Audit Commission, to carry out a forensic review to establish the full extent of the Home Office’s knowledge of the Special Demonstration Squad for the 40 year period from 1968 to 2008. This review will be published soon.

Terrorism: British Nationals Abroad

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of UK nationals who have travelled to participate in terrorist activity in (a) Iraq, (b) Syria, (c) Yemen, (d) Libya, (e) Pakistan, (f) Somalia, (g) Kenya, (h) Tanzania, (i) Nigeria and (j) another country.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK nationals who travelled to fight in the Iraq-Syria conflict zone have been previously (a) a subject of interest in an investigation of the intelligence agencies, (b) arrested for terrorism related offences, (c) charged with any other criminal offence and (d) convicted of any other criminal offence.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of subjects of interest to investigations of the intelligence agencies who have subsequently travelled to participate in terrorist activity in (a) Iraq, (b) Syria, (c) Yemen, (d) Libya, (e) Pakistan, (f) Somalia, (g) Kenya, (h) Tanzania, (i) Nigeria and (j) another country.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 09 March 2015



It is a longstanding UK Government policy not to comment on intelligence matters, however the security services have confirmed that there are around 600 subjects of interest, who have travelled to the region of the Syria/ Iraq conflict from the UK. During 2014 a total of 165 Syria-related arrests were made by Police officers across the country for suspected offences including terrorist financing, preparation of acts to commit terrorism and attending a terrorist training camp. This compares to 25 Syria related arrests for the whole of 2013. Of the 165 arrested last year, over 60 have so far been charged with terrorism-related offences and 13 convicted.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding has been provided to the independent panel inquiry into child sexual abuse.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the UK will oppose restrictions on the availability of ketamine at the meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs from 9 to 17 March 2015.

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take advice from anaesthetists familiar with the needs of developing countries before voting at the meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs from 9 to 17 March 2015.

Lynne Featherstone: The Coalition Government does not believe that controlling ketamine internationally is appropriate, as it could result in reduced access to a substance listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation, and widely used as an anaesthetic in low and middle income countries. We will be adopting this position at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.However, we are determined to clamp down on the criminal misuse of ketamine, which leaves young people in the UK hospitalised with serious bladder and kidney damage every year.To prevent its misuse, we have made ketamine a Class B drug and taken action to ensure its availability for health and veterinary care in the UK is properly regulated.We continue to discuss our concerns over the impact of international control with a range of civil society groups and professional bodies, including bodies representing anaesthetists.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans that the independent panel inquiry into child sexual abuse will assume statutory status.

Lynne Featherstone: The Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will assume statutory status when the Home Secretary notifies parliament of the appointment of the Chairman, the revised Terms of Reference for the Inquiry, and how many Panel members she proposes to appoint. The Home Secretary will do this before the end of March.

Police

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in each force area were assigned to response in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cultural Heritage: Theft

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to identify and prosecute any British citizens or residents for possession of or trafficking in historic artefacts stolen from Iraq or Syria.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Police: Females

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to commemorate the centenary of the first recruitment of women police officers in 1915.

Mike Penning: I am aware of this milestone and I think it is very important to mark it. In doing so we recognise the successes of women in policing over the last 100 years. I am in discussions over how best to celebrate this significant anniversary, working in conjunction with the British Association of Women in Policing.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department's planned consultation on the Gangmasters' Licensing Authority (GLA) will consider (a) extension of the remit of the GLA into further labour sectors and (b) how the core licence-monitoring and intelligence-gathering function of the GLA can be protected.

Karen Bradley: The purpose of the consultation is to examine the role of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) and to help develop the evidence base needed to make effective changes to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. This will include all relevant aspects of the GLA's work.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign Relations

Dr Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken since 2010 to increase British influence around the world.

Mr David Lidington: Despite this very tight spending environment, the Government has since 2010 opened nine new diplomatic missions in emerging countries and the fastest growing economies and upgraded a further 6 posts. We have opened an FCO language centre to support over 600 speakers slots worldwide and a Diplomatic Academy. And we have shaped the international agenda including through ground-breaking conferences on PSVI, cyber-security and Somalia.

Robert Mugabe

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role the UK played in the recent EU decision to ease travel restrictions on Robert Mugabe.

James Duddridge: All EU Measures decisions are reached unanimously after discussion among the Member States. There has been no change to the travel ban applying to President Mugabe following the annual review of EU Restrictive Measures against Zimbabwe.

Israel

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received on restricting the supply of arms to the Israeli government from UK weapons manufacturers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office receives regular representations on the Government’s policy on UK arms exports to Israel. These representations include Parliamentary questions, Ministerial and public correspondence and engagement with NGOs. This Government supports a responsible defence and security industry that helps meet the legitimate defence needs of other states, and contributes to their security and law and order. We take our arms export responsibilities very seriously and operate one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All defence and dual-use exports are required to meet the UK’s strict export control legislation and adhere to the UK international commitments including international treaties and obligations. Each application for an export licence is subject to rigorous case-by-case assessment against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. The licences issued for items for Israel are no different. The United Kingdom does not believe that imposing an arms embargo on Israel would promote progress in the Middle East Peace Process. We continue to monitor closely the situation in Israel and Gaza and take into account the latest circumstances when assessing licence applications.

Iraq

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the government of Iraq about the destruction by extremists of cultural and historical sites in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government is deeply concerned about the destruction of cultural, religious and historical sites in Iraq by the so called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The UK supported the passage of UNSCR 2199 which condemns the destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq and Syria, including the targeted destruction of religious sites and objects. The UK also co-sponsored a resolution on this issue the Human Rights Council in September. Most recently, on 27 February, the UNSC issued a statement condemning “the destruction of irreplaceable religious and cultural artefacts housed in the Mosul Museum and burning of thousands of books and rare manuscripts from the Mosul Library”.The UK has expressed its strong support for the Government of Iraq’s efforts to preserve Iraq’s rich cultural heritage. This week, the Charge d’Affaires visited the recently re-opened Baghdad Museum and an archaeological excavation in Thi-Qar province, where the UK is supporting work to ensure that Iraq’s heritage is preserved for future generations.

Sudan

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what financial support the UK is providing for the election in Sudan (a) bilaterally and (b) multilaterally.

James Duddridge: The UK is not providing any financial support, either bilaterally or multilaterally, for the forthcoming elections in Sudan.

Libya

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) encourage stability in Libya and (b) allow compensation to be paid to victims of terrorist acts sponsored by the Ghadaffi regime.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK Government, working closely with our international partners, continues to support the people of Libya and the efforts of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Libya, Bernardino Leon, to resolve the political crisis. Since 2011, the UK has also funded much practical support to Libya. The current focus is on contributing to UN political settlement efforts through the UK Special Envoy to the Libyan Political Transition, Jonathan Powell. The UK is also providing expert advice to the Constitutional Drafting Assembly; helping to enhance the quality and coverage of media reporting of events in Libya; providing support in the areas of border controls and humanitarian demining; and helping Libyan institutions to effectively manage their public finances. While we do not intend to negotiate a compensation settlement with the Libyan authorities, once stability returns and our Embassy re-opens, we will again encourage the Libyans to engage with UK victims seeking redress, including those seeking compensation and their legal representatives. The Prime Minister is committed to doing this and in May 2014 asked the National Security Advisor to lead cross-government efforts to engage the Libyans on reconciliation initiatives. The Government will also continue to promote broad and lasting reconciliation between Libya and affected UK communities.

Terrorism: Compensation

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to pursue international justice and compensation for UK nationals affected by terrorist acts supported or encouraged by another country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme is a government funded scheme designed to compensate the blameless victims of terrorism overseas in certain circumstances. The scheme is administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and applies to certain terrorist incidents since 2012. A predecessor scheme applied from 2002, again under certain circumstances. Long-term success in countering terrorism depends on international collaboration, and we work with our partners overseas to build their capacity to investigate and prosecute terrorists. The specific cases related to UK victims of Qadhafi sponsored terrorism, do not fall within the scope of current or previous schemes. In May 2014, the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), asked his National Security Advisor, Sir Kim Darroch, to lead cross-Government efforts to build a dialogue with the Libyan authorities on reconciliation initiatives. This is a broad remit to lead discussions with the Libyans to facilitate progress for all UK victims of Qadhafi sponsored terrorism. While we do not intend to negotiate a compensation settlement with the Libyan authorities, once stability returns, and our Embassy re-opens, we will again encourage the Libyans to engage with UK victims seeking redress, including those seeking compensation.

Sudan

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of a credible, free and fair election in Sudan.

James Duddridge: We remain very concerned about the prospects for credible elections in Sudan, not least because of the almost 3 million people internally displaced by ongoing conflicts in Darfur and the Two Areas, the continued detention of opposition and civil society leaders, and the confiscation of newspapers by the security services. Consequently, we continue to urge the Government of Sudan to create an enabling environment for elections as well as to hold a comprehensive National Dialogue.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Mr David Lidington: Contracts awarded under Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) standard terms and conditions mandate that suppliers should pay their subcontractors within 30 days. However the data required to answer this question is not held centrally by the FCO and cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.

Middle East

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of Iran's compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to have serious concerns about Iran's support for the military wing of Hizbollah, including the provision of significant financial resources, training and weapons. The UK believes that this Iranian activity is in contravention of UNSCR 1747, which prohibits the export of weapons by Iran, and inconsistent with the objectives and purpose of UNSC 1701.

Syria

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on whether Iranian forces have established a military presence in the Golan Heights region of Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have seen no reports on this issue other than those in the media. We have seen numerous media reports that a senior Iranian military commander was killed in the Syrian Golan Heights area and that there have been recent Syrian army regime offensives in the area, that, according to media reports, are backed by Hizballah and Iran.

Iran

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the falling cost of oil on the economy of Iran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Iran's oil revenues have been drastically constrained by sanctions. So while a fall in the oil price will have an impact on Iran's public finances and economy this will be less significant than if sanctions were not in place: Oil revenues were c.12% of Iran’s GDP last year. The extent of the impact will be affected by the length of time oil prices will stay low.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code. However, we do not hold this data about our suppliers centrally and cannot answer this question in its current format without disproportionate cost.

Palestinians

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Swedish counterpart on that country's decision to recognise Palestine as a state.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed Sweden's decision to recognise Palestine as a state with his Swedish counterpart, Margot Wallström, during his visit to Sweden on 20 November 2014.Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have also discussed this issue with various levels of the Swedish government.

China

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on (a) real name registration on online platforms such as Weibo and (b) other aspects of internet freedom.

Mr Hugo Swire: We continue to be concerned by restrictions to internet freedoms in China, particularly in relation to freedom of expression. We are aware of new laws requiring real name registration on online platforms such as Weibo, and are concerned that increasing numbers of foreign websites are being blocked. We believe that the internet provides an unparalleled opportunity for communication between governments and citizens, and is vital for creativity and the development of a knowledge-driven economy. We highlighted the issues of real name registration in our September 2014 update to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. The report and its updates record the range of our concerns. We last raised our detailed concerns about internet freedoms with Chinese authorities during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in May 2014.

Cyprus

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the return of Famagusta in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions 550(1984) and 789(1992).

Mr David Lidington: I understand the strength of feeling about Varosha, the present state of which reflects the consequences of the continued division of Cyprus. We fully support all relevant Security Council resolutions, including Resolutions 550 and 789. We have raised this issue with the Turkish Cypriots and with the Turkish authorities. I remain convinced that, ultimately, a comprehensive settlement is the best chance of resolving these complex issues. The UK will continue to support the UN-led negotiations which will address the questions of Varosha, Famagusta and other issues related to a comprehensive settlement. We also welcome measures to build confidence between the two communities. These can have great value in fostering reconciliation between the communities and in facilitating a comprehensive settlement. I was very pleased that on 2 March the Foreign and Commonwealth Office hosted a meeting at which the Chambers of Commerce of both Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities were represented by their Presidents, both of whom spoke eloquently about the way in which a settlement would increase the prosperity of everyone on the island.

NATO

Sir Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on (a) how many sets of accounts for expenditure in 2013 by NATO and its agencies have not been finalised and (b) what the timetable is for completing those accounts and passing them to the International Board of Auditors of NATO; and what assessment he has made of when such accounts will be audited and published.

Sir Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on (a) how many sets of accounts for expenditure in 2013 by NATO and its agencies have been completed, (b) how many such sets have been audited by the International Board of Auditors of NATO, (c) how many audited accounts have been published together with their audit reports, and on what dates, and (d) what the timetable is for (i) publishing the remaining audited accounts and audit statement and (ii) auditing and publishing any as yet unaudited 2013 accounts.

Mr David Lidington: The UK scrutinises all financial audit reports conducted by the International Board of Auditors of NATO (IBAN) on NATO and its entities. However, the Department does not hold all of the information referred to and has therefore requested it from NATO. NATO recently decided to publish all unclassified NATO audit reports as well as a range of other financial information. We welcome this positive step towards improved financial transparency within the Alliance.

Germany

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the German government urging it to make appropriate financial contributions to British victims of thalidomide.

Mr David Lidington: This Government remains a strong supporter of Thalidomide survivors. Her Majesty's Government is supporting the Thalidomide Trust’s National Advisory Council in their efforts to engage the German government in order to seek compensation for British Survivors of Thalidomide. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently working with the National Advisory Council in its efforts to secure a meeting with the relevant German authorities.The British Ambassador to Berlin has raised the National Advisory Council’s campaign with the German Families Minister, Manuela Schwesig.In addition, the Minister for Life Sciences at the Department of Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Norfolk (Mr Freeman), raised the issue of Thalidomide with the German government when visiting Berlin on 23 February.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Trade Missions

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many overseas trade missions which were attended or led by a government minister have been completed in the last twelve months; on what dates each such visit took place; and to which countries those ministers travelled on each occasion.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



The information requested is not available.

Economic and Social Research Council

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of Economic and Social Research Council research funding is spent on (a) social enterprise and (b) economics.

Greg Clark: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



For the 2013-2014 financial year 11.1% (£22,252,606.98) of Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) expenditure was classified as economics spend. ‘Social Enterprise’ is not a classification term used by ESRC.

Lifelong Education

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage requalification and life-long learning; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles: The Government supports learning for the full range of purposes. Apprenticeships, including Higher Apprenticeships, are the Government’s key priority to enable people of all ages to acquire new skills, improve their skills or update them as part of an employer- led skills system. Wider freedoms and flexibilities offered by the adult skills budget give colleges and training organisations more ability to respond to the learning needs of individuals and employers in their locality, and we have increased loan support for learners aged 24 and over studying at Levels 3 and 4. 24 + Advanced Learning Loans continue to be accessed in large numbers with over 123,000 applications in total to December 2014. The National Careers Service provides high quality, information and guidance to help people choose the right learning pathway and to understand whether funding is available to help them. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also invests £210m per annum in Community Learning, which offers flexible local provision for post-19 adults of all ages and from a wide range of backgrounds. Courses meet a variety of learning needs, from personal development to pre-employment skills, health and wellbeing, parenting skills, arts, crafts and languages.

Lord Heseltine Review

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which recommendations of the report No Stone Unturned, published in October 2012 by the right Hon. the Lord Heseltine, have been implemented to date.

Matthew Hancock: The Government published its response to “No Stone Unturned” by my noble Friend Lord Heseltine in March 2013. That response accepted, in full or in part, 81 out of Lord Heseltine's 89 recommendations.The Government continues to take forward these recommendations to advance the main commitments of decentralisation and working with business-led Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to unleash the potential of local economies.The Government has created a Local Growth Fund (LGF) of at least £12bn for the period 2015 to 2021 to drive local growth, which is under the strategic influence of the LEPs.Funds will be allocated from the LGF as part of the Growth Deals with every LEP, which were announced on 7 July 2014. Earlier this year the government announced further investment of £1 billion in local economies across England by expanding these Growth Deals.The Government is also supporting those areas seeking to go further, as demonstrated by the devolution deals agreed with the Greater Manchester and the Sheffield City Region areas.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of the amount (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.

Jo Swinson: The Government has overhauled public procurement to open it up to businesses of all sizes. On 25 February 2015, we announced that central government spent an unprecedented £11.4 billion with SMEs in 2013-14, a record 26.1% of direct and indirect spend. This meets our aspiration, set in 2010, that 25% of government procurement spend would be with SMEs by the end of this Parliament. The data on central government spend with SMEs in 2013-14 is available on GOV.UK:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of undisputed invoices his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Jo Swinson: In the period April 2014 to February 2015 the core Department paid 96% of undisputed invoices within 5 days. Figures for non-departmental public bodies are not held centrally and Departmental Agencies have been asked to respond separately. Their responses are attached.



Responses from BIS agencies.
(PDF Document, 1.11 MB)

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of suppliers to his Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Jo Swinson: The Department does not record or hold details, for itself or for its non-departmental public bodies, of the number of suppliers that are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.Departmental Agencies have been asked to respond separately. Their responses are attached.



Responses from BIS agencies.
(PDF Document, 1.03 MB)




Response from the Insolvency Service
(PDF Document, 71.57 KB)

Money Lenders

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many convictions for illegal money lending resulted from prosecutions brought by the Illegal Money Lending Units of (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014.

Jo Swinson: The National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) have been responsible for tackling Illegal Money Lending since April 2012. They collect and report information on their work to the Department by financial year. Convictions for Illegal Money Lending since April 2012:Team2012/132013/142014/15 (to 4/3/2015)England345536Wales225Scotland103

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what requirements his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies place on suppliers in respect of their payment terms to subcontractors as part of their standard terms and conditions.

Jo Swinson: The Department’s standard terms and conditions requires that where a contactor/supplier uses a sub-contractor a provision is included which requires the contractor/supplier to pay for any goods or services within 30 days of the contractor/supplier receiving a correct invoice from the sub-contractor. The Department fully supports the need for its suppliers to pay sub-contractors promptly and has been working closely with the Cabinet Office to strengthen the public procurement regulations to ensure that suppliers do pay promptly and report accordingly. Departmental Agencies have been asked to respond separately and information on non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally. Their responses are attached.



Responses from BIS agencies.
(PDF Document, 1.1 MB)




Response from the Insolvency Service
(PDF Document, 71.43 KB)

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Jo Swinson: The Department does not hold details, for itself or for its non-departmental public bodies, of the proportion of suppliers that pay subcontractors within 30 days.Departmental Agencies have been asked to respond separately. Their responses are attached.



Responses from BIS agencies.
(PDF Document, 1.18 MB)

Manufacturing Industries

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many firms have (a) approached by and (b) directly received support from Reshore UK in each month since it began operation.

Matthew Hancock: Since Reshore UK became operational in February 2014, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) - now part of the Business Growth Service - have discussed prospective projects with 183 firms. Of these, UKTI and MAS have helped land 54 projects which are forecast to create 4,610 new jobs and are working with firms on 39 projects which are expected to create a further 1978 jobs. The breakdown of landed projects by month is set out in the table below. MonthLanded ProjectsForecast New Jobs CreatedMarch 20143477April 20148706May 20146219June 20146750July 20148559August 20145337September 20147327October 2014545November 20142815December 2014117January 20152352February 201516

Exports

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what total value of business has been won as a result of UK Trade & Investment Support for Exports programmes in 2014-15 to date.

Matthew Hancock: UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) Performance Information Monitoring Survey (PIMS), reports that the value of additional sales that businesses attribute to UKTI support was £7.8bn in the first quarter of 2014/15.

Business: Government Assistance

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what key performance indicators have been set for the Government's contribution to the Future Fifty programme.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The following key performance indicators have been agreed with TechCity UK for the Future Fifty programme for 2014-15:   • Number of firms provided with intensive one-to-one support from the Future Fifty team • Number of Future Fifty events delivered • Number of individuals from Future Fifty firms participating in events delivered as part of the programme • Net promoter score of companies who respond positively versus negatively about the impact of the programme • Volume of positive media coverage in target media, and key message delivery

Directors

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on how many occasions and on what dates his Department's board has met in the last 12 months; and who was in attendance at each such meeting.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Departmental Board met five times in the period 4 March 2014 – 4 March 2015. The dates and attendees were:   6 March 2014 Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP – Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills (Chair) Rt Hon David Willetts MP – Minister of State for Universities and Science Allan Cook – Lead Non-Executive Board Member Prof Wendy Purcell – Non-Executive Board Member Alan Aubrey – Non-Executive Board Member Dale Murray – Non-Executive Board Member Prof Dame Ann Dowling – Non-Executive Board Member Martin Donnelly – Permanent Secretary Bernadette Kelly – Director General (DG), Business and Local Growth Howard Orme – DG, Finance and Commercial Philippa Lloyd – DG, People and Strategy Rachel Sandby-Thomas – DG, Legal, Enterprise and Skills Sam Beckett – DG, Economics and Markets Sir John O’Reilly – DG, Knowledge and Innovation Mark Russell – CEO, Shareholder Executive Crispin Simon – Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), UK Trade and Investment   29 April 2014   Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP – Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills (Chair)  Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP – Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Lord Livingston – Minister of State for Trade and Investment Matthew Hancock MP - Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise Jenny Willott MP - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs Allan Cook – Lead Non-Executive Board Member Alan Aubrey – Non-Executive Board Member Dale Murray – Non-Executive Board Member Martin Donnelly – Permanent Secretary Bernadette Kelly - DG, Business and Local Growth Howard Orme – DG, Finance and Commercial Rachel Sandby-Thomas – DG, Legal, Enterprise and Skills Sam Beckett – DG, Economics and Markets Sir John O’Reilly – DG, Knowledge and Innovation Mark Russell – CEO, Shareholder Executive Crispin Simon – Acting CEO, UK Trade and Investment   16 June 2014   Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP – Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills (Chair) Rt Hon David Willetts MP – Minister of State for Universities and Science Matthew Hancock MP - Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise Jenny Willott MP - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs Allan Cook – Lead Non-Executive Board Member Alan Aubrey – Non-Executive Board Member Dale Murray – Non-Executive Board Member Stephen Bligh – Non-Executive Board Member Prof Wendy Purcell – Non-Executive Board Member Martin Donnelly – Permanent Secretary Bernadette Kelly - DG, Business and Local Growth Howard Orme – DG, Finance and Commercial Rachel Sandby-Thomas – DG, Legal, Enterprise and Skills Sam Beckett – DG, Economics and Markets Sir John O’Reilly – DG, Knowledge and Innovation Mark Russell – CEO, Shareholder Executive Dominic Jermey - CEO, UK Trade and Investment Philippa Lloyd – DG, People and Strategy   9 December 2014   Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP – Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills Rt Hon Greg Clark MP - Minister of State for Universities and Science Jo Swinson MP - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs Allan Cook – Lead Non-Executive Board Member Dalton Philips - Non-Executive Board Member Juergen Maier - Non-Executive Board Member Prof Wendy Purcell - Non-Executive Board Member Prof Dame Ann Dowling – Non-Executive Board Member Dale Murray – Non-Executive Board Member Stephen Bligh – Non-Executive Board Member Martin Donnelly – Permanent Secretary Bernadette Kelly - DG, Business and Local Growth Howard Orme – DG, Finance & Commercial Philippa Lloyd – DG, People and Strategy Rachel Sandby-Thomas – DG, Legal, Enterprise and Skills Sam Beckett - DG, Economics and Markets Mark Russell - CEO Shareholder Executive   3 March 2015   Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP – Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills Rt Hon Matthew Hancock MP - Minister of State for Business and Enterprise and Energy Nick Boles MP – Minister of State for Skills and Equalities Jo Swinson MP - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs Allan Cook – Lead Non-Executive Board Member Prof Wendy Purcell - Non-Executive Board Member Prof Dame Ann Dowling – Non-Executive Board Member Dale Murray – Non-Executive Board Member Stephen Bligh – Non-Executive Board Member Martin Donnelly – Permanent Secretary Bernadette Kelly - DG, Business and Local Growth Howard Orme – DG, Finance & Commercial Philippa Lloyd – DG, People, Strategy & Higher Education Rachel Sandby-Thomas – DG, Legal, Enterprise and Skills Sam Beckett - DG, Economics and Markets Mark Russell - CEO Shareholder Executive Gareth Davies – DG, Knowledge and Innovation

Business

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many business mentors in each region are currently available through the Government's national network of mentors and the mentorsme portal; and what plans he has to join up those programmes with (i) the Business Growth Service, (ii) Growth Hubs and (iii) local enterprise partnerships.

Matthew Hancock: The information about mentors in each region is unavailable.   The Government has simplified national business support into three clear offers (advice, finance, exports), with local business support being brought together through the growth hubs which Local Enterprise Partnerships and their partners are establishing. Both the Business Growth Service and growth hubs will connect businesses to mentors where businesses would benefit from this support.

Mental Illness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination as a result of signing up to the Time to Change Pledge.

Jo Swinson: Since signing the Pledge the Department has been actively engaging employees at all levels in a wide range of positively regarded and innovative initiatives. Focussing on building awareness and capability, this has included: • introducing a mental health buddies scheme for managers;• running workshops on managing employees with mental health illnesses;• championing ‘Time to Talk Day’ on 5 February and;• running events such as a talk by an international cricketer on his experience of depression and a film by Rethink Mental Illness, followed by a staff Q&A session with the Director and the person featured in the film.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Syringes

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to promote the use of smart syringes through the UK's aid programmes.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK actively promotes the use of ‘smart’ or safe syringes in the global immunisation programmes that the UK supports. These programmes are principally Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). The UK is providing approximately £1.3 billion to Gavi from 2011 to 2015 (which will immunise over 70 million children) and £300 million for polio eradication from 2013 to 2018 (which will include the global roll out of the injectable Inactivated Polio Virus).   The UK supports both Gavi and GPEI in implementing the World Health Organisation (WHO) policy regarding the use of safe auto-disabled syringes, alongside safe boxes for their disposal. The UK also encourages Gavi and GPEI to introduce new technologies such as ‘smart’ syringes where they are cost-effective and WHO-approved.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of the amount (a) her Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.

Justine Greening: Figures for funding to small and medium-sized enterprises for 2013-14 are published online by the Cabinet Office.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of undisputed invoices her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Justine Greening: Payment performance figures up to December 2014 are available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-payment-performance-2014/dfid-payment-performance-2014.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what requirements her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies place on suppliers in respect of their payment terms to subcontractors as part of their standard terms and conditions.

Justine Greening: The standard terms and conditions, including for sub-contractor payments, are available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/400474/DFID_Standard_Contract_Section_2_Standard_Terms_and_Conditions-feb15.pdf.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of suppliers to her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Justine Greening: A list of signatories to the Prompt Payment Code can be found on the Code’s website.

Pay

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of (a) staff of her Department and (b) staff working for companies contracted by her Department in Ambercrombie House in Glasgow are paid less than the living wage.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no members of staff paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.None of our contracted workers are paid less than the Living Wage.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of suppliers to her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Justine Greening: DFID terms and conditions require sub-contractor payment within 30 days.

Burma

Mr David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Rohingya people from Burma who have fled to Bangladesh since 2012; and what assistance the Government is providing to those people.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Whilst there is no officially agreed number of the Rohingya population, most international agencies estimate that there is up to 500,000 Rohingya people in Bangladesh.   DFID provides core contributions to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which manages the official camps for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, as well as through other partners such as the European Commission. This support includes providing shelter, access to water and sanitation, vocational training and food supplies to malnourished refugees.

Department for Education

Offences against Children

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve guidance on child sexual exploitation.

Mr Edward Timpson: In response to the Ofsted thematic review ‘The sexual exploitation of children: it couldn't happen here, could it?’[1] the Department for Education will revise and re-issue the 2009 ‘Safeguarding children and young people from sexual exploitation’ guidance to reflect recent research, good practice and findings from child sexual exploitation reviews and criminal investigations. As it is statutory guidance, the department will consult and discuss with other government departments on the scope of the document. On 3 March 2015, a summit was held where the government launched new measures to tackle child sexual exploitation: ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation’.[2]   [1] www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/386595/The_20sexual_20exploitation_20of_20children_20it_20couldn_E2_80_99t_20happen_20here_2C_20could_20it.doc[2] www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-sexual-exploitation--2

Members: Correspondence

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Permanent Secretary of her Department plans to respond to the letter from the Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts of 12 February 2015.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department for Education will respond before Parliament is dissolved.

Schools: Radicalism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 10.42 of the Prevent Review, published in 2011, what steps her Department took between 2011 and 2014 to improve training and information on radicalisation for schools.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Prevent programme is a strand of CONTEST – the UK’s strategy for countering extremism – aimed at stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism and extremism. Schools are important to the Prevent strategy both in order to reduce risks of radicalisation, and because schools should be safe spaces where children and young people can challenge and discuss ideas around extremism. Training and information for schools is provided mainly through local Prevent networks, funded by the Home Office, and by the local police, who are best placed to work with schools and to provide support tailored to their particular circumstances. The support available includes trained experts who can deliver training and information in schools.   Since the publication of the Prevent strategy over 130,000 public sector workers, including school staff, have been trained on tackling extremism and identifying people at risk. Schools have access to a wide range of products to help them build pupils’ resilience to extremism and radicalisation.

Radicalism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2015 to Question 225665, what work her Department undertook between 2011 and 2014 to implement the review of the Prevent Strategy in 2011, and what evaluation was undertaken of that work.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department for Education set up a dedicated unit, the Due Diligence and Counter Extremism Group, now a director-led group, to lead its contribution to the Prevent strategy, in particular by working to reduce the risk of unsuitable individuals and organisations from gaining influence over schools and strengthening regulatory frameworks.   The Department has carried out due diligence checks to establish the suitability of individuals and organisations seeking to become involved in schools and in other activity involving children and young people. Work on strengthening regulatory frameworks includes, but is not limited to, amending the standards applying to institutions, teachers and governors to require them to conduct themselves in a way which is compatible with fundamental British values and enabling the Secretary of State and others to take action where they fail to do so. Ofsted has strengthened the school inspections handbook so that inspectors take account of how well schools promote fundamental British values, and protect pupils from the risks of extremism and radicalisation, when judging their effectiveness.   A number of local Prevent projects, funded by the Home Office, engage schools and supplementary schools and train teachers in priority areas. The Home Office has established a monitoring framework to evaluate the local delivery of Prevent project funding to local authorities. The process for allocating funds requires projects to be evidence-based with clear steps to evaluate activity. The Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT) collates the evidence from projects it funds in order to evaluate consistently across similar projects.

Ministry of Justice

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the amount (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.

Mike Penning: On 25 February the Government published on GOV.UK departmental spend data with small and medium-sized enterprises, directly and through the supply chain, for 2013-4:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014For 2014-14, 37.4% of Ministry of Justice business went to SMEs, exceeding our aspiration of 25%.

Crime: Victims

Mr Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to prevent sensitive data relating to a victim of (a) domestic violence and (b) other crimes being disclosed during a court hearing.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This question relates to the disclosure of sensitive information in the civil courts, where robust measures are already in place. Judges have the power to order non disclosure of details, to have cases heard in private or evidence given via video link or from behind a screen, and to make other orders as necessary to preserve the address or other personal details of a victim of domestic abuse, harassment or stalking. For this to happen it is important that the victim brings any issues to the attention of the judge at the earliest opportunity so that appropriate care can be taken throughout the case. More broadly, in its 2014 Action Plan, A Call to End Violence against Women and Girls, the Government has committed to develop a code of practice to ensure “safe addresses” and other personal information about the identity and whereabouts of victims of domestic and sexual violence are properly protected.

Victim Support Schemes

Mr Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding the Government provides for victims' support organisations in England and Wales.

Mike Penning: This Government is committed to ensuring that victims of crime have access to high-quality, effective and timely support to help them cope and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. The Ministry of Justice has made more money than ever before available for this purpose, increasing the contribution offenders make to the costs of providing support and have more than doubled the budget under this Government to over £92million for 2015/16.Locally accountable Police and Crime Commissioners are now responsible for the provision of support services in their areas and will receive the bulk of the available MoJ funding with which to do so. This is £63.15m in 2015/16.Some services remain nationally commissioned. This includes support for families bereaved by homicide, support for victims of rape and modern slavery (jointly funded with the Home Office), and support for witnesses at court. National services have recently been competitively re-commissioned.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of undisputed invoices his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Mike Penning: January 2015 is the latest period for which figures relating to this information are available. In this period 85.2% of undisputed invoices were paid within five days. Information on payment performance is published on Gov.uk. This information is updated monthly and can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/procurement#prompt-payment-of-our-suppliers.

Disclosure of Information

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has received on whistleblowers who have been dismissed from their employment and are unable to afford employment tribunal fees.

Mr Shailesh Vara: We have received no representations about the impact of Employment Tribunal fees on whistleblowers since fees were introduced in July 2013. Fees were introduced following a consultation exercise in 2012. A summary of the representations received, including on whistleblowers, and the Government’s response, are set out in “Charging Fees in Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal” which is available on the Ministry of Justice website at: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/et-fee-charging-regime-cp22-2011/results/employment-tribunal-fees-consultation-response.pdf Fee remissions are available so that those who are unable to afford to pay the fee are not prevented from accessing the Tribunal.

Employment Tribunals Service

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to review the effect of the introduction of fees for employment tribunals.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Small businesses can be hamstrung by unfounded employment tribunal claims and taxpayers should not have to pick up the £74 million bill for running the service.We have made sure fee waivers are available for those who cannot afford to pay, as well as diverting people away from potentially acrimonious hearings, where possible, through a new early conciliation scheme which has already been used by 37,000 people in its first six months.The Government has committed to review Employment Tribunal fees but believes this is better determined by the new Administration following the Election.

Leader of the House

Members: Employment

Paul Flynn: To ask the Leader of the House, what his policy is on hon. Members' having second jobs.

Mr William Hague: The independent Committee on Standards in Public Life have previously recommended that MPs should remain free to have paid employment unrelated to their role as MPs, and that this is desirable in performing their role (1st Report Committee on standrdas in Public Life).It is important that there is transparency about what MPs do, who pays them and for what. The House changed its rules before the last election to ensure that this detail is shown in the Register of Members' Financial Interests. MPs are here to work for their constituents and that should remain the principal purpose of all MPs elected to this place.

Ministry of Defence

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's training budget was in each of the last three financial years.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on the 3 March 2015 to Question 224510.http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=224510

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what total value of contracts was awarded under his Department's Small Business Research Initiative competitions advertised through the Innovate UK website in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Mr Philip Dunne: Holding answer received on 02 March 2015



The total value of contracts awarded via Small Business Research Initiative competitions advertised through the Innovate UK website was £6.7 million in Financial Year (FY) 2012-13 and £7.955 million in FY 2013-14.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what total value of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts were awarded by his Department in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Mr Philip Dunne: Holding answer received on 02 March 2015



In financial year (FY) 2012-13, 109 Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) contracts with a value of £6.7 million were awarded.In FY 2013-14, 132 Phase 1 SBRI contracts with a value of £8.255 million were awarded.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what total value of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts were awarded by his Department in 2014-15 to date; and for how many contracts to what value his Department has budgeted for the full year.

Mr Philip Dunne: Holding answer received on 02 March 2015



Based on allocated budgets for these competitions, the Department is planning to spend some £7.6 million via 96 contracts in this financial year on Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts.

Military Aircraft: Fuels

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much fuel was dumped from each type of airborne RAF aircraft in each of the last two years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of that dumping.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of fuel dumped by airborne RAF aircraft.

Mr Philip Dunne: Not all aircraft have the capability to jettison fuel. Of those that do, jettisoning of fuel is not a routine occurrence and is used to reduce the weight of the aircraft or improve control; for example, in association with an emergency.Data on jettisoning fuel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2015 to Question 214595, what the roles were of those UK military personnel deployed to UNFICYP in 2014.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions the wrong transport aircraft was sent to retrieve an asset in the last 12 months; and what the asset and incorrect aircraft sent was in each such case.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Clyde Naval Base and Clyde Submarine Base

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many accidents there have been at HM Naval Base Clyde and Royal Navy Armaments Depot Coulport in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Clyde Naval Base and Clyde Submarine Base

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many accidents were reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 at (a) HM Naval Base Clyde and (b) Royal Navy Armaments Depot Coulport in each of the last five years; and what the circumstances of each such accident were.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Iraq

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions have taken place between UK armed forces and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran on co-ordinating military action in Iraq.

Michael Fallon: None.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of undisputed invoices his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: Over the period 1 April to 31 December 2014, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and its Trading Funds paid 93.73% of undisputed invoices within five working days against the 80% target.The MOD processes over four million invoices a year totalling some £26 billion. Its performance (including its Trading Funds) on making payments to suppliers is routinely recorded in its Annual Report and Accounts each year.

Reserve Forces: Training

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what overseas training is planned for reserve forces in 2015; and where that training will take place.

Mr Julian Brazier: The following training involving the Reserve Forces is planned in training year 2015-16:Maritime Reserves:EX ARTIMIS TRIDENT - Persian GulfEX KHUNJAR HADD - Persian GulfEX BELL BOUY - SingaporeEX GRIFFIN RISE - North AtlanticEX BALTOPS - BalticEX LUCKY MARINER - Persian GulfEX DYNAMIC MOVE - BelgiumEX TRIDENT JUNCTURE - Mediterranean/NorwayEX BERSAMA LIMA - MalaysiaMNEX - SpainEX HAIRSPRING - NorwayEX HELIOS ENCOUNTER - CyprusEX BLACK ALLIGATOR - USAUS/UK Exchange (Royal Marines Reserve) - USACOMMAND POST EXERCISE - GibraltarEX TRIDENT JUNCTURE - NaplesYOUNG RESERVES OFFICERS WORKSHOP - USAINTERNATIONAL JUNIOR OFFICERLEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR - USAArmy ReservesEX MORLANCOURT - AustraliaEX BARBARY STAR - GibraltarEX IBERIAN STAR 1 - SpainEX IBERIAN STAR 2 - SpainEX LEOPARD STAR 1A - GermanyEX LEOPARD STAR 1B - GermanyEX LEOPARD STAR 2 -GermanyEX LION STAR 1 - CyprusEX LION STAR 2 - CyprusEX LION STAR 3 - CyprusEX LION STAR 4 - CyprusEX LION STAR 5 - CyprusEX LION STAR 6 - CyprusEX LION STAR 7 - CyprusEX LION STAR 8 -CyprusEX LION STAR 9 - CyprusEX ORANGE STAR OTX - NetherlandsEX ROMAN STAR - ItalyEX SAVA STAR - CroatiaEX TRIGLAV STAR - SloveniaEX VIKING STAR 1A - DenmarkEX VIKING STAR 1B - DenmarkEX VIKING STAR 2 - DenmarkEX GOLDEN COYOTE/MULBERRY TREE - USARoyal Auxiliary Air ForceEX WINTERMARCH - NorwayUK/US Exchange - USAInternational Junior Officer Leadership Course - GermanyInternational Non-Commissioned Leadershipand Development Course - CanadaYoung Reserve Officers Workshop - USAMedical Cover for Ex FREEFALL ENDEAVOUR - USAThe Interallied Confederation of ReserveOfficers (CIOR) - BelgiumCIOR MILCOMP - USAEX COMBINED JOINT ATLANTIC SERPENT - USAEX SCOUT SUNSET - Ascension IslandsEX BEWARE - CyprusIntelligence Royal Auxiliary Air Force Sqn AnnualContinuous exercise - CyprusRoyal Auxiliary Air Force Sqn Force Development - FranceEX MAGIC CARPET - OmanEX VALENCIAN IMP - SpainRoyal Auxiliary Air Force Sqn Force Development training - HollandTactical Leadership Programme - Spain

Marchwood Military Port

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 3 March 2015, HCWS330, on Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre (Preferred Bidder), what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the announcement of a preferred bidder on the future capacity of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Mr Philip Dunne: As a result of the Marchwood transaction there is no potential effect on the future capacity of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to investigate whether the unauthorised work to excavate the wreck site of HMS Victory 1744 represents a breach of the Deed of Gift for HMS Victory 1744.

Anna Soubry: There has been no excavation at the wreck site of HMS VICTORY 1744 nor artefacts recovered by the Maritime Heritage Foundation or Odyssey Marine Exploration since the Deed of Gift was signed in January 2012. However regular site surveys have been conducted, and reports provided to the Government. There has, therefore, been no breach of the Deed of Gift.

Reserve Forces

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has made in payments to employers of reservists for each employee or partner mobilised since changes in the Defence Reform Act 2014 took effect.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Defence Reform Act 2014 introduced Employer Incentive Payments of up to £500 per calendar month for small and medium sized employers for each employee who is mobilised for Reserve Service. These payments can be claimed in addition to Employer's Awards, which were already authorised by SI 2005 No 859. Between 1 October 2014 and 28 February 2015, the following payments were made to employers of Reservists by the three Services.   Type of claim Maritime Reserves Army Reserves RAuxAF Employer's Award £27,798.08 £84,815.84 £11,096.07 Employer's Incentive Payment £894.25 £20,115.01 £26,508.75

Marchwood Military Port

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 3 March 2015, HCWS330, on Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre (Preferred Bidder), what estimate he has made of the annual (a) profits and (b) reductions in the cost of sea mounting that will result from the award of the contract to manage that centre; how long the contract with Solent Gateway Ltd will be for; and what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of that contract.

Mr Philip Dunne: A focussed clarification phase between the Ministry of Defence and the Preferred Bidder is still ongoing. All information is deemed commercially sensitive and I am unable to release any further information.

Mental Illness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination as a result of signing up to the Time to Change Pledge.

Anna Soubry: As the Minister for Defence Personnel I signed the Time to Change Pledge on 11 September 2014, since then the Department has undertaken a programme of communication to raise awareness of the challenges faced by those who may struggle with mental health issues.Further resources and tools have been introduced, and these include, the trial of cognitive and behavioural therapy self help services, stress management advice, health fairs, a staff intranet site dedicated to mental health and comment forums for staff to share experiences. The Department has also provided guidance for line managers who may have staff who are absent from work due to poor mental health who need support in their efforts to return to the workplace.To support staff experiencing mental health issues the Department is building up a number of training opportunities and these include, Mental Health First Aid training, Stress management workshops, online training tools and face to face line manager training.The Department also promoted Time to Talk day and brought in speakers for a seminar to encourage the open discussion of these issues in the workplace. Further events are planned for the year ahead and work is being taken forward with other Government Departments to share best practice and take a collaborative approach to tackling the stigma and discrimination of mental health.This is in addition to the wide ranging excellent support that was put in place for Armed Forces personnel following Dr Murrison's Fighting Fit report in 2010, such as, an increase in the number of mental healthcare professionals, a dedicated 24-hour helpline in partnership with Combat Stress, an on-line mental health support and advice website provided by the Big White Wall, and structured mental health assessment as part of routine and discharge medicals.

RAF Croughton

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2015 to Question 222466, what requests for (a) authorities and (b) consultations have been made to his Department in connection with (i) the European Infrastructure Consolidated Review and (ii) RAF Croughton in the last year.

Anna Soubry: The US European Infrastructure Consolidation Review, which also considered the future of RAF Croughton, was primarily a US national analysis of options for their basing footprint in Europe. However, consultation was conducted with Ministry of Defence stakeholders throughout this process.

Navy: Catering

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Royal Navy spent per day per head on food for (a) officers and (b) serving ratings in the last period for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Royal Fleet Auxiliary spent per day per head on food for (a) officers and (b) serving ratings in the last period for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Army spent per day per head on food for (a) officers and (b) serving ratings in the last period for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: Ministry of Defence personnel in the UK and permanent bases overseas are primarily catered for through a number of catering, retail, leisure and other multi-activity contracts.Armed Forces personnel serving on operations, UK and overseas exercises and HM Ships and Submarines, are catered for under a single food supply contract with Purple Foodservice Solutions Ltd.The cost of food purchased under these contractual arrangements is not held in the format requested.

Forests

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has made to remove the avenues of acacia trees which have been planted on his Department's land.

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of songbirds killed illegally on the Cyprus Sovereign Base Areas in the autumn migration periods in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014.

Anna Soubry: The Sovereign Base Areas Administration (SBAA) is not able to accurately asses the number of songbirds killed illegally in the autumn migration periods.Birdlife Cyprus undertakes assessments of bird trapping across the whole of Cyprus. The SBAA does not have confidence with unverified assessments over bird losses which are based on arbitrary data collected from a very short period.My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mark Francois) met with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Chief Executive on 6 March 2015 and informed him that the SBAA and Birdlife have agreed to work together on data collection methods to be used in analysis of the 2015 autumn season.He also explained to him that during the autumn 2014 migration season, approximately ten percent of acacia trees in the range at CapePyla in the Eastern Sovereign Base Area were cut down. This equates to approximately 17 acres of land.The RSPB is aware that the Sovereign Base Areas Administration is now reviewing options to remove more acacia in 2015 at Cape Pyla, and the area is proposed as one of the sites for designation as a Special Area of Conservation this year. This is subject to consultation and, if designation is endorsed, this site and others will require a long term management plan to reduce acacia further.

Department for Work and Pensions

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the amount (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: On 25 February the Government published on GOV.UK departmental spend data with SMEs, directly and through the supply chain, for 2013-4:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014 This data shows that for 2013-14, 26.1% of government business went to SMEs, exceeding our aspiration of 25%.

Employment and Support Allowance

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the suitability of employment and support allowance for people with mild to moderate mental health issues.

Mr Mark Harper: Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) provides support to people with a health condition or disability. Entitlement to ESA is based on an individual’s functional ability rather than the condition itself. People claiming ESA will undergo the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). The WCA is based on the premise that eligibility should not be based on a person’s condition, but rather on the way that condition limits their functional capability. We have strengthened our processes for assessing people with mental health conditions by: · Introducing Mental Function Champions who spread best practice amongst healthcare professionals in mental health, learning difficulties and cognitive impairment.· Redesigning the ESA50 claimant questionnaire to make it clear that evidence from Support Workers, Community Psychiatric Nurses, Carers etc. is valuable particularly in mental health cases.· Improving the training in mental health for decision makers and assessors.· Accepting Dr Litchfield’s recommendations from the fifth Independent Review of the WCA relating to mental health.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what requirements his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies place on suppliers in respect of their payment terms to subcontractors as part of their standard terms and conditions.

Esther McVey: DWP includes a provision in its contract terms requiring payment to contractors within thirty days of receipt of a valid claim. Where the contractor enters into a sub-contract for the purpose of performing its obligations under the contract, it must ensure that a provision is included in the sub-contract which requires payment to be made by the contractor to the sub-contractor within a specified period not exceeding thirty days from the receipt of a valid claim. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 came into force on 26 February and contain a requirement for sub-contractors to include in any sub-contract which they in turn award, provisions having the same effect.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Esther McVey: The information is not available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of undisputed invoices his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The Department for Work and Pensions publishes monthly ‘Prompt Payment’ statistics, stating what proportion of undisputed invoices are paid within 30 days, (contractual), 10 days and 5 days figures here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/procurement under the heading Prompt Payment to Suppliers.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of suppliers to his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.The publication of revised Public Contracts Regulations 2015 on 25 Feb has resulted in new legislation, which means that;everyone in the supply chain must comply with 30 day payment terms, including suppliers and sub-contractors;public bodies must publish an annual late payment report, making their accountability more transparent.

Meetings

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what meetings Ministers of his Department had with (a) disability representative groups and (b) private sector organisations between July 2013 and February 2015.

Esther McVey: DWP Ministers meet regularly with external organisations in relation to the Department’s work and welfare reform. Details of meetings with external organisations up to and including March 2014 are published by the Cabinet Office as part of the Government’s commitment to transparency, and these details are available at: http://data.gov.uk/dataset/82fd6446-aa45-4032-9eae-2524a66d8b6b Information from the remainder of 2014 to February 2015 will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.

Mental Illness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination as a result of signing up to the Time to Change Pledge.

Esther McVey: DWP is actively committed to creating an environment where open conversations around mental health are encouraged in order to tackle the associated stigma and discrimination. Activities undertaken since signing the Time to Change pledge in February 2014 include: 1) the introduction of training, including Unconscious Bias and Mental Health Awareness; 2) staff communications from the DWP Champion for Disability, Wellbeing and Work Life Balance; 3) development of comprehensive support and guidance for all staff through on-going work with external partners such as Occupational Health and Employee Assistance Providers and Business Disability Forum.

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the likely proportion of parents with care with child maintenance arrears whose CSA cases will be closed as part of the scheduled case closure process who will opt to have their child maintenance arrears (a) written off as part of the shutdown and (b) transferred to the child maintenance service for future collection.

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of Child Support Agency arrears owing in cases with a current liability that will be (a) written off in full, (b) written off in part, (c) re-valued to take account of a previous interim maintenance assessment and (d) transferred to the Child Maintenance Service for collection as a result of the 2015 to 2018 phased closure of such cases.

Steve Webb: We cannot predict how many parents with care will agree to have their child maintenance arrears written off during the case closure process; however all will be given the opportunity to do so. No estimates have been published for the amount of Child Support Agency arrears that will be (a) written off in full, (b) written off in part, (c) re-valued to take account of a previous interim maintenance assessment, or (d) transferred to the Child Maintenance Service for collection.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the amounts not paid by his Department for each benefit as a result of detection of benefit fraud in each area of (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk in each year since 2005.

Esther McVey: The Department does not hold this information.

Children: Maintenance

Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the arrears validation element of the Child Support Agency case closure programme, by what processes will the Agency review cases where arrears recovery had been temporarily suspended, to ascertain whether the reasons for temporary suspension remain valid.

Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to examine the arrears balances of individual Child Support Agency cases subject to case closure to re-value arrears arising from interim maintenance assessment.

Steve Webb: Under current plans for ending liability in 1993 and 2003 scheme cases, the Department will validate all CSA arrears, including arrears accrued from Interim Maintenance Assessments and those which have been suspended. The approach was set out in both “Preparing for the future, tackling the past: Child Maintenance – Arrears and Compliance Strategy 2012-2017 and Command Paper Cm8399 “Supporting separated families; securing children’s futures”. The validation process will include caseworkers resolving discrepancies on cases and completing outstanding tasks.

Children: Maintenance

Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what arrangements are in place to ensure that parents with care responsibilities whose Child Support Agency (CSA) cases are subject to case closure and who are owed child maintenance arrears are fully informed about (a) the process and likely timescale of the arrears validation process, (b) the reasoning and calculations behind the finalised arrears balance figure they receive and (c) the options open to them regarding the collection  of the finalised CSA debt following the closure of their case.

Steve Webb: All letters sent to parents regarding the end of their CSA arrangement, make clear that arrears remain due or owed, even after liability ends. After arrears have been validated, parents are advised, in writing, of the balance. The parent with care can speak to the CSA if they want to discuss how the figure has been arrived at in further detail. We cannot advise parents of the exact length or detail of the validation process, as it will depend on the circumstances of individual cases. Both parties are advised to contact Child Maintenance Options for further information about the collection of their arrears. However, after validation, parents with care will be asked whether or not they wish their arrears to be collected.

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many unemployed 16 to 24 year olds accessed jobcentre plus services in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have been refused hardship payments in each month since October 2012.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Advertising

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on (a) television, (b) print, (c) online and (d) billboard advertising mentioning the word pension in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uses a variety of free and paid for channels to effectively communicate important reforms and how people are affected. The channels used are considered the most effective route to reach key audiences, whilst offering value for money. All advertising spend is scrutinised and agreed through the Cabinet Office. However the specific request can only be provided at disproportionate costs.

Advertising

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what amount his Department spent on (a) television, (b) print, (c) online and (d) billboard advertising in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: The Department's spend on marketing and media communication services such as digital advertising, press, radio and TV services in each of the last 5 years is detailed as follows£2009-105,095,9712010-11989,1542011-121,506,1612012-134,811,3032013-143,835,245   Like all Government Departments and public bodies, we have a duty to help the public understand and manage new legal changes and rights, helping them get back in to work or save for retirement. We are delivering major reforms to the pensions and welfare systems with levels of spend underlining our commitment to provide essential public information at the appropriate time. We are careful to ensure we deliver value for money with these communications delivering significant benefits for individuals and wider society in understanding vital changes.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants who had been referred for sanction were not sanctioned following provision of a recognised good reason for not having fulfilled their claimant conditions in the latest period for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The information as requested is not available but such information we can provide is for the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance non adverse mandatory reconsiderations, by reason for referral and this is available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

Unemployed People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the average proportion of jobseekers' time accounted for by (a) compliance activity and (b) employment support activity.

Esther McVey: The Information requested is not available.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he intends to reply to the letter to him of 22 January 2015, from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regards to Mr S Law.

Steve Webb: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions replied to the Rt. Hon. Member on 2 February 2015.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of undisputed invoices her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of suppliers to her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of suppliers to her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Dan Rogerson: This table sets out the proportion (%) of undisputed invoices paid within five days in Core Defra, its executive agencies and its Non-Departmental Public Bodies in the period April to December 2014.   Organisation%Core Defra98%  Executive Agencies: Animal and Plant Health Agency97%Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science100%Food and Environment Research Agency74%Rural Payments Agency87%Veterinary Medicines Directorate98%  Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies: Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (see Note)0%Consumer Council for Water94%Environment Agency95%Joint Nature Conservation Committee54%Marine Management Organisation99%National Forest Company64%Natural England99%Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew71%Sea Fish Industry Authority52% Note: The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board does not attempt to make payments within 5 days, but rather pays within agreed terms, which are 30 days as standard.   Neither the Core Department nor its executive agencies or Non-Departmental Public Bodies routinely capture or monitor whether their suppliers are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.   Neither the Core Department nor its executive agencies or Non-Departmental Public Bodies routinely capture or monitor whether their suppliers pay their subcontractors within 30 days, where such subcontractors are employed.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what requirements her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies place on suppliers in respect of their payment terms to subcontractors as part of their standard terms and conditions.

Dan Rogerson: Many procurements are done through central frameworks using the associated contractual terms and conditions. For other procurements, almost all Defra network bodies, including core Defra, require 30 day payment terms to be passed on to subcontractors for all their contracts above the OJEU threshold (£111,676 for non-works contracts). Several of those bodies, where their work is likely to be sub-contracted, also put this requirement into contracts below that value and where this is not currently the case the position will be reviewed. The exceptions are the Food and Environment Research Agency and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the lifting of a cannon from the wreck site of HMS Victory 1744 by Odyssey Marine Exploration formed a part of the Marine Management Organisation investigation into unauthorised work on the HMS Victory 1744 wreck site.

George Eustice: The investigation on the HMS Victory 1744 wreck site focused on activities at the wreck site in 2012. Based on the evidence available, it is understood that a cannon was lifted prior to the introduction of the marine licensing system in April 2011 under part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, for which the Marine Management Organisation is the licensing authority.   Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act introduced a requirement to have a licence to remove objects from the sea-bed. Prior to this, under part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 which concerned the regulation of deposits in the sea, there was no similar provision regarding removal of objects from the seabed.

Mental Illness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination as a result of signing up to the Time to Change Pledge.

Dan Rogerson: Defra signed up to Time to Change in March 2014, and it forms part of a wider, established wellbeing programme. There have been a number of activities, including:   · launch of a Break the Stigma (BTS) group was launched in January 2014; an employee-led network of buddies providing support, information, and raising awareness of mental health issues. There are now over 140 BTS supporters and over 40 BTS buddies within the Department. BTS buddies share their personal experiences on our intranet and join team meetings to explain the issues of discrimination and stigma and highlight the role of line managers and colleagues in supporting people with mental ill-health.   · Awareness events were held during Mental Health Week, World Mental Health Day, European Week of Health and Safety (theme: Workplace Stress) and Time to Talk Day.   · Intranet pages provide information about mental health and wellbeing and sources of support (e.g. Employee Assistance Programme) for staff and Line Managers.   · Defra promotes Civil Service Learning resources and offers workshops on personal resilience, mindfulness and mental health awareness for line managers.

Dairy Farming

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the proportion of dairy production which involves intensive indoor methods.

George Eustice: Defra does not collect information on systems of production. It is difficult to categorise dairy farms in terms of intensity as it can be measured in many different ways and levels of intensity change gradually rather than at specific predetermined points.

Forest of Dean

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether there are any plans in place for the Public Forest Estate land at the Cinderford Northern Quarter site in the National Heritage Forest of Dean will to be transferred to any other party for development.

Dan Rogerson: The Government stands by its commitment, set out in the 2013 Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement and on subsequent occasions, that the public forest estate will remain in public hands. However, while this commitment is intended to secure the future of the public forest estate as a whole, in line with the recommendations of the Independent Panel on Forestry, it was never intended to preclude all land transactions on the estate.   The Government is aware of the decision of the Forest of Dean District Council planning committee on the matter and the continuing work in hand. A final decision on the proposed land exchange involving land on the public forest estate and land owned by the Council will be taken later in the year in the light of all the information then available.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Council Tax: Lancashire

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much additional revenue was raised by rises in council tax, including precepts by Lancaster District Council in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 to date.

Kris Hopkins: Holding answer received on 20 November 2014



In 2013-14, Lancaster District Council increased their council tax level (including parish precepts) from £204.70 to £209.07. Based on their tax base in 2012-13, this would have raised the district £190,000 in additional council tax revenue. However by increasing their council tax level, they also gave up their Freeze Grant allocation worth £85,000 so their net gain was £105,000. The table below shows the information above and the additional revenue raised by the County, Fire and Police and Crime Commissioners in Lancaster in 2013-14. The figures for the precepting authorities show the amount of additional council tax raised in Lancaster district and the freeze grant figures are the value of the freeze grant for the proportion of their tax base in Lancaster district. Additional Council Tax raised in Lancaster in 2013-14 (£)  Council Tax LevelsAdditional Council TaxRaised in 2013-14Value of FreezeGrant forgoneValue of FreezeGrant receivedAuthority2012-132013-14Lancaster204.70209.07190,00085,000-Additional Council Tax and Freeze Grant forgone by precepting authorities in Lancaster (i.e. the Lancaster share of the Lancashire totals)Lancashire County Council1108.301086.13--494,000Lancashire Fire Authority63.6563.65--28,000Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable149.93152.92130,00067,000-   In 2013-14, Lancashire County Council received a Freeze Grant worth £4.3 million in total and Lancashire Fire received £300,000. While Lancashire Police’s increase in council tax level raised them a total of £1.4 million in additional council tax, they gave up a Freeze Grant allocation worth £706,000, so their net gain was £697,000. In 2014-15, Lancaster District Council increased their council tax level (including parish precepts) to £213.35. Based on their tax base in 2013-14, this will raise the district £159,000 in additional council tax revenue. However by increasing their council tax level, they also gave up their Freeze Grant allocation worth £92,000 so their net gain was £67,000. The table below shows the information above and the additional revenue raised by the County, Fire and Police and Crime Commissioners in Lancaster in 2014-15. The figures for the precepting authorities show the amount of additional council tax raised in Lancaster district and the freeze grant figures are the value of the freeze grant for the proportion of their tax base in Lancaster district. Additional Council Tax raised in Lancaster in 2014-15 (£)  Council Tax LevelsAdditional Council Taxraised in 2014-15Value of FreezeGrant forgoneValue of FreezeGrant receivedAuthority2013-142014-15 Lancaster209.07213.35 159,000 92,000 - Additional Council Tax and Freeze Grant forgone by precepting authorities in Lancaster (i.e. the Lancaster share of the Lancashire totals)Lancashire County Council1086.131107.74802,000403,000-Lancashire Fire Authority63.6563.65--24,000Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable152.92155.96113,00057,000 -In 2014-15, Lancashire County Council’s increase in council tax levels raised them £7.2 million in additional council tax, but they gave up a Council Tax Freeze grant worth £4.3 million, so their net gain was £2.9 million. Lancashire Fire received £305,000 in Council Tax Freeze Grant. Lancashire Police’s increase in council tax level raised them a total of £1.2 million in additional council tax, but they gave up a Freeze Grant allocation worth £706,000 so their net gain was £474,000. Council Tax Freeze Grant is placed into the baseline: so by not freezing, councils have lost out on ongoing extra funding from central government. I would add that the ‘gain’ in these cases to the local authority is actually a ‘loss’ to taxpayers: as they are the ones who have to foot the bill for higher taxes. Local authorities’ primary duty is to their local electors. We would encourage every local authority to take up the offer of additional council tax freeze funding available in 2015-16 to help hard-working people with the cost of living.

INTERREG Programme

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the value for money to the public purse of the EU's INTERREG programme; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: The INTERREG programmes (also known as European Territorial Co-operation) have been a waste of UK taxpayers’ money. Under the last Administration, funds were wasted on vanity projects for artificial pan-national Euro regions, such as the “Transmanche”. Pointless expenditure included a series of Cross-Channel Cycle Lanes, films on European fairy tales, a Cross-Channel Circus, a human treadmill, transnational dance troupes and an Atlas which renamed the English Channel as “Le Pond”. It is worth noting that, as with all Structural Funds, such European funding is merely recycled from the UK taxpayer, given the UK is a net contributor to the EU budget. There is no ‘free’ money from the European Union. Indeed, the UK is a net loser given the massive amount spent on bureaucracy, complex auditing and stupid projects that would never have been funded by the UK Government directly. There is a strong case for repatriating Structural Funds, cutting out the middle man of the European Commission, and freeing up money to directly support regeneration and economic development across the United Kingdom. In as far as we are stuck with the current programme, we have sought to ensure that the 2014-20 schemes focus on jobs and growth, as well as tackling genuine maritime-related issues such as coastal flooding. Looking ahead, there is a strong case to consider for the United Kingdom giving notice in the next Parliament and withdraw from the programme completely.

Planning Permission

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what restrictions apply to people who were recently employed as local planning officers working in the private sector on planning applications in the same local authority area in which they were previously employed.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 03 March 2015



The terms and conditions of employment for local authority officers are a matter for each local authority. It will be for local authorities to include in those terms and conditions such provisions about conflicts of interest as they consider appropriate. Local authority officers should also have regard to the probity guidance published by the Local Government Association and the Planning Advisory Service. The consideration of any planning applications by a local authority should be undertaken with due process, a fair hearing and appropriate transparency. Planning applications are considered on their own merits and, by law, are determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2015 to Question 218656, what the reason was for the time taken to answer that question.

Kris Hopkins: Holding answer received on 09 March 2015



We could have replied more quickly to the hon. Member's question with a curt answer of stating that this information was not centrally held, but instead, we took time to try to craft a more constructive response, pointing to the national estimates that we do have and to the best practice guidance that we have published.

Young People: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) London and (b) each London borough who are under the age of 35 and live with their parents.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 09 March 2015



The information requested is not centrally held.

Green Belt: Hertfordshire

Sir Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect green belt and green open spaces in North Hertfordshire local authority area.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 10 March 2015



As pledged in the Collation Agreement, this Government has safeguarded national Green Belt protection and increased protection of important green spaces.We have abolished the Labour Government’s top-down Regional Strategies which sought to delete the Green Belt in and around 30 towns and cities. This has included revoking the East of England Regional Spatial Strategy (May 2008) which advocated reviewing and potential removal of Green Belt boundaries in North Hertfordshire.We have also: • Introduced a new Local Green Space planning designation, which allows councils and neighbourhood plans to give added protection to valuable local green spaces; • Published the National Planning Policy Framework which re-affirms Green Belt protection; • Given councils stronger powers to tackle ‘garden grabbing’, and stopped gardens being classified as brownfield land; • Issued new waste planning policy which increases protection of the Green Belt; • Published planning guidance which re-affirms the importance of the Green Belt during Local Plan preparation; and • Consulted on proposed changes to planning policy on traveller sites to further increase Green Belt safeguards.

Housing: Hertfordshire

Sir Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much (a) North Hertfordshire District Council and (b) East Hertfordshire District Council received in New Homes Bonus in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 10 March 2015



New Homes Bonus has been allocated to East Hertfordshire and North Hertfordshire councils in the year 2014/15 as follows:East Hertfordshire £2,190,429North Hertfordshire £1,982,455The total New Homes Bonus allocated since April 2011 is as follows:East Hertfordshire £7,628,975North Hertfordshire £7,503,553 The Bonus ensures that local authorities who promote and welcome growth can share in its economic benefits, and build the communities in which people want to live and work. Councils are free to spend the Bonus as they choose, including on front-line services and keeping council tax low.Fundamentally, the New Homes Bonus reverses the perverse situation under the last Labour Government, where councils were effectively penalised for building new homes; councils with a larger council tax base from house building found that the amount of formula grant they received from central Government was reduced during the equalisation process.

HM Treasury

Tax Avoidance

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) his Department and (b) HM Revenue and Customs has asked the (i) Panorama programme or (ii) Guardian for the documents reporting on the use by UK citizens of unregistered accounts in jurisdictions abroad to evade paying tax in the UK was based.

Mr David Gauke: I can confirm that HM Revenue and Custom (HMRC) has formally asked the BBC Panorama programme, the Guardian newspaper and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for all data in their possession relating to off shore tax evasion.

State Retirement Pensions

Austin Mitchell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of raising the basic state pension by (a) 10, (b) 15 and (c) 20 per cent.

Mr David Gauke: Forecasts of expenditure on the basic State Pension are published at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2014   In 2015/16 this is forecast to be approximately £68.45 billion in cash terms.   This can be used as the basis for calculating simple percentage increases.

Private Rented Housing: Taxation

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many voluntary disclosures of untaxed income by private landlords have HM Revenue and Customs received in each of the last five years; and what the value was of such disclosures from properties based (a) in the UK, (b) in Scotland, (c) in England, (d) in Wales, (e) in Northern Ireland and (f) overseas.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold details of voluntary disclosures over the 5 year period requested.

Infrastructure

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Pensions Infrastructure Platform; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: The Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PIP) continues to make progress in supporting investment by UK pension funds in UK infrastructure by providing a platform for these funds to work together.

Small Businesses: Taxation

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the tax yield was from Section 660a legislation in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Mr David Gauke: Figures are not available for the tax yield from sections 624 to 628 ITTOIA 2005, the rewritten version of section 660A ICTA 1988, in each of the last five years.

Small Businesses: Taxation

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many enforcement actions in respect of Section 660a legislation there have been in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Mr David Gauke: Figures are not available for 'enforcement actions' in respect of sections 624 to 628 ITTOIA 2005, the rewritten version of section 660A ICTA 1988, in each of the last five years.

Welfare State: Reform

Mr David Blunkett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish an analysis of the effect of welfare reforms since 2010 (a) on welfare recipients, (b) on people with disabilities, (c) by geographical area and (d) on single parents, families, and people of working age compared to pensioners.

Mr David Gauke: The Government publishes distributional analysis at each fiscal event which shows how households across the income distribution are affected by this Government’s tax, welfare, and public service spending changes.   The most recent assessment was at Autumn Statement 2014, which showed that the richest 20% of households continue to make the greatest contribution to reducing the deficit, both in cash terms and as a percentage of their income.   This analysis is not available in breakdowns by categories other than the equivalised income and expenditure distributions.

Income Tax

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people earn between £10,500 and £13,500; what forecast his Department has made of the average amount of income tax such people will pay in 2015-16; and how much tax such people paid in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr David Gauke: It is estimated that in the year 2014-15 there are 4.1 million taxpayers earning between £10,500 and £13,500. Estimates of their average income tax liability are not available.   These estimates are based upon the 2012-13 Survey of Personal Incomes projected to 2014-15 using economic assumptions consistent with the OBR’s December 2014 economic and fiscal outlook.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Guto Bebb: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2015 to Question 220917 and to the Answer of 26 January 2015 to Question 221596, what the surcharge is for payment by monthly direct debit for each licence administered by his Department.

Mr David Gauke: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Transport is responsible for administering Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) payments on behalf of HM Treasury. HM Treasury does not administer any other licences. Motorists who elect to pay VED by monthly direct debit pay a 5 per cent surcharge. The 5 per cent surcharge applies to payment of VED for cars, vans and motorcycles by monthly direct debit. No charge applies when paying by annual direct debit.

Private Rented Housing: Taxation

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the tax gap was for taxation of income from private rental properties in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and if he will estimate such figures for each of the next five years.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) publish estimates of the tax gap in ‘Measuring Tax Gaps’ each year. The 2014 edition (published on 16 October 2014) presents a time series of tax gaps from 2005-06 to 2012-13, which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps   HMRC do not break down any of the estimates by country. The UK tax gap relating to lettings income for taxpayers paying tax on employment income via PAYE for 2009-10 was estimated to be £550 million. This figure is published in Table G.5 on page 53 in the ‘Methodological annex’ to the ‘Measuring Tax Gaps’ publication (available via the link above).   Other elements of the tax gap, such as the Income Tax Self Assessment and Corporation Tax gaps, may also include tax gap relating to income from private rental properties. HMRC do not publish a breakdown of these other elements by particular sectors of the economy.

Pensions

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the extent of independent advice from the (a) private, (b) public and (c) voluntary sector on the pensions reforms that will come into effect from April 2015.

Mr David Gauke: The government is committed to consumers being able to access financial advice when they need it – particularly in light of the pension reforms. That is why the government is delivering Pension Wise, a free and impartial guidance service for consumers on what they can do with their pension pot. Pension Wise will be a critical first step for consumers at the point of retirement, and signpost people to regulated financial advice where appropriate.   These reforms provide private advisers with an opportunity to meet a new set of consumer needs.   The government also welcomes steps taken by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to encourage the development of affordable models of advice, such as ‘simplified advice’.

Inheritance Tax

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2015 to Question 223222, how much funding was allocated to specialist inheritance tax compliance teams in each of the last five years.

Mr David Gauke: The funding allocations for staff allocated to the Inheritance Tax compliance teams for the last four years are:   2014/15 £5,930,000 2013/14 £6,357,000 2012/13 £6,293,000 2011/12 £6,334,000   Prior to 2011/12 the teams were organised and structured in a different way and comparable figures are not available.   HMRC has re-engineered the IHT compliance process. This has delivered efficiencies which are reflected in the funding allocations.

Tax Avoidance

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that staff in the new counter-avoidance directorate of HM Revenue and Customs have received adequate training to deal with challenges to accelerated payment notices.

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials in his Department are engaged in dealing with accelerated payment notices.

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to report publicly on the progress it has achieved using accelerated payment notices.

Mr David Gauke: With regards to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff training on Accelerated Payments Notices, I would refer the hon. member to the answer I gave to a written question on 26 February 2015 (HC Deb, 26 February 2015, cW).The number of HMRC officials currently engaged in dealing with Accelerated Payments Notices is 270Full Time Equivalents. With regards to HMRC’s plans to report the progress on Accelerated Payments, I would refer the hon. member to my answer of 10 February (HC Deb, 10 February 2015, cW)

Islamic State

Frank Dobson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to prevent British financial institutions facilitating the sale of (a) oil and (b) historic artefacts by ISIL.

Mr David Gauke: ISIL is designated under the UN Al Qaida sanctions regime (given effect by UN Security Council Resolution 1267) which is implemented in the EU by Council Regulation 881/2002, with the criminal penalties imposed in the UK by the Al Qaida (Asset Freezing) Regulations 2011. The Al Qaida financial sanctions is implemented in the UK by HM Treasury.   It is therefore a criminal offence for any legal or natural person, including financial institutions, to deal with funds belonging to ISIL or to make funds or economic resources available to ISIL. It is a criminal offence for individuals or organisations knowingly to provide support for ISIL, including by the facilitation of oil, oil products, or commodities including historic artefacts. This was most recently underlined in UN Security Council Resolution 2199, which the UK Government co-sponsored.

Economic Growth

Stuart Andrew: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of growth in the economy.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK economy grew by 2.6 per cent in 2014, the fastest in the G7. Growth is balanced – with all 3 major sectors (services, construction, and manufacturing) of the economy growing by 2.5 per cent or more for the first time since records began in 1990. 760,000 new SMEs, 1.85 million new private sector jobs, inflation at record lows - this government's long term economic plan is working.

Housing

Heidi Alexander: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the housing market on the economy.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The Government’s Help to Buy scheme and Stamp Duty reforms will continue to support housing market activity. And new housing supply is already responding, with housing starts in England growing by 10% in 2014.

Income Tax: Hereford

Jesse Norman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of people in Hereford and South Herefordshire constituency who will no longer pay income tax as a result of the increased personal allowance.

Mr David Gauke: By April 2015, this government’s increases in the personal allowance are estimated to have taken 3.2 million individuals out of income tax.   271,000 of these individuals live in the West Midlands, which includes the Parliamentary Constituency of Hereford and South Herefordshire.   HM Revenue & Customs does not publish this information at constituency level.

Economic Policy

Robert Jenrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress he has made on his long-term economic plan.

Andrea Leadsom: The government’s long-term economic plan is working: the UK grew faster in 2014 than any other G7 country, the deficit is forecast to have halved as a share of GDP in 2014-15, and there are record numbers of people in work. But the job is not yet done and the biggest risk now to the recovery would be abandoning the plan that is delivering a brighter economic future.

LIBOR: Fines

John Glen: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress has been made on the allocation of Libor fines.

Danny Alexander: At the Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced the allocation of a further £100m of LIBOR fines directly to military charities and good causes. This included £5m for the Gurkhas, £10m for veterans with hearing problems and £1m for the Great Western Air Ambulance. This Government is committed to allocating all LIBOR fines received to date within the life of this Parliament. A further update will be provided at the Budget.

Average Earnings

Karl Turner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the growth in average earnings compared to the rate of inflation since May 2010.

Andrea Leadsom: This government understands that times have been tough for many families since the 2008 recession.  But we are turning a corner and I am delighted that for the past four months pay has been rising faster than inflation. Further, we are seeing average wage growth of 4.1% for full-time employees in continuous employment and there have been 1.85 million jobs created since this government came to power.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Energy: Prices

Sir Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the change in household energy prices in the last 12 months.

Amber Rudd: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the amount (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester South on 9 March 2015 to UIN: 225908,225907,225925,225926

Consultants

Pamela Nash: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2015 to Question 225345, how much his Department spent on consultancy in each year since May 2010.

Mr Francis Maude: Before the last General Election, there were no effective cross-Governmental controls over spend on consultancy and temporary labour.Now Ministers, supported by Cabinet Office officials, closely scrutinise what we spend on consultants and temporary labour. Last year, departments saved over £1.4 billion from consultants and temporary labour compared to the spending levels in the final year of the last administration, 2009-10 - a 57% reduction. This helped us save taxpayers £14.3 billion through efficiency and reform in 2013-14 against a 2009-10 baseline.We will continue to spend money on consultants and temporary labour when there is an appropriate business need to do so. Indeed in some cases engaging temporary labour is more flexible and cheaper for the taxpayer than taking on new staff. But we are also ensuring that the Civil Service has the skills needed. Our Capabilities Plan is designed to address long-standing gaps in four particular areas: digital skills, project management skills, commercial skills, and the leadership and management of change.We publish all spend data over £25,000 and contracts over £10,000 on Gov.uk and Contracts Finder

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of undisputed invoices his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what requirements his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies place on suppliers in respect of their payment terms to subcontractors as part of their standard terms and conditions.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Mr Francis Maude: Cabinet Office uses standard government Terms and Conditions that places an obligation on Suppliers to pay subcontractors within a timescale that does not exceed 30 days from receipt of a valid invoice. The Cabinet Office does not make payments direct to sub-contractors. A list of Prompt Payment Code signatories is available here: http://ppc.promptpaymentcode.org.uk/ppc/signatory_paged.a4dPrompt Payment Statistics can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2013-14.

Mental Illness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination as a result of signing up to the Time to Change Pledge.

Mr Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office takes the issue of mental health discrimination seriously and is taking action to ensure that it provides an environment that supports the mental wellbeing of its staff.Since signing the Time to Change pledge a senior mental health and wellbeing champion has been appointed. Activity has included: improving staff accessibility to support by revamping information in our induction packs and the intranet; creating and circulating guidance for managers on responding to mental health issues; encouraging discussions across the Cabinet Office by running a ‘Time to Talk’ day; and creating new opportunities for staff and managers to access mental health training.

Policy

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason each policy contained in the 2010 Coalition Agreement which has not yet been implemented has not been implemented.

Mr Oliver Letwin: I refer the Hon Gentlemen to Departmental Business Plans which record all commitments, timescales for completion and progress against them. The Business Plans are fully transparent and are available at: www.transparency.number10.gov.uk

Locality

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding his Department has allocated to the Locality for the Community Organising programme.

Mr Rob Wilson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 November 2014 to UIN: 213130

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the amount (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.

Mrs Helen Grant: On 25 February the Government published on GOV.UK departmental spend data with SMEs, directly and through the supply chain, for 2013-4:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014  This data shows that for 2013-14, 26.1% of government business went to SMEs, exceeding our aspiration of 25%.

Telecommunications

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the consultation on reform of the Electronic Communications Code will begin; and how long that consultation will last.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The DCMS published the consultation on reform of the Electronic Communications Code on the 26th February 2015 and it will last for a period of 9 weeks. The consultation can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of undisputed invoices his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Mrs Helen Grant: I refer the Hon member to the Department's our last Annual report and Accounts for 2013-14 (pages 48 &49 refer), the notes therein report on the Departments prompt payment as follows:Policy on Payment of Suppliers:The Department paid 93.4% (2012-13: 95.2%) of valid invoices within 10 days of receipt and 99.6% within 30 days (2012-13: 99.7%). Following Budget 2010, the Government announced a new target for central Government Departments to pay 80% of valid invoices within five working days. DCMS’s (Department only) performance against the target in 2013-14 was 77.2% (2012-13: 82.3%). The Department does not currently operate a Procure to Pay (P2P) system, which would allow automatic invoice matching and increase performance against the five day target. A P2P system will be introduced as part of the move to shared services that is currently in train across Whitehall. In the meantime, DCMS will continue to monitor and work to improve its performance against the five day target through training of and regular communication with authorising officers in the Department. "The next set of accounts for the financial year 2014-15, are expected to be laid in July 2015.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Mrs Helen Grant: The DCMS is a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code. The DCMS does not hold this information for its arm’s length bodies and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what requirements his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies place on suppliers in respect of their payment terms to subcontractors as part of their standard terms and conditions.

Mrs Helen Grant: Our contracts include a requirement for the contractor to pay subcontractors within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Mrs Helen Grant: The Department does not hold this information.

Mental Illness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination as a result of signing up to the Time to Change Pledge.

Mrs Helen Grant: · DCMS held a health and wellbeing event which included mental health as a key part of employee wellbeing. To support this, Time To Change representatives attended and ran a stall to raise awareness both of mental health and the stigma surrounding it, and the support available.· DCMS set up market stalls at the last two 'All staff Away' days, giving a chance to discuss mental health with all staff.· DCMS arranged an informal 'Time to Talk' tea & cake morning arranged during DCMS inclusion week to encourage all staff to discuss mental health to help reduce the stigma.· All DCMS staff are invited to the regular meetings that are run by the Mental Health staff network.· Interesting and informative articles posted on the Mental Health forum, to encourage staff to think about information on mental health that may not be common knowledge.· DCMS will be taking part the Whitehall event at the end of March 2015 which is organised by 'Time to Change' to encourage all governmental departments to work together to reduce the stigma around Mental Health. · DCMS have been encouraging all staff to complete the 'Unconscious Bias' e-learning and face to face to session to help identify, challenge, prevent and remove unconscious bias in the workplace.

Mobile Phones

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2015 to Question 225610 on mobile telephones, whether he plans to publish that response before 7 May 2015; and whether that response will include the full Statement of Commitment.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The DCMS will publish the response shortly and it will also include details of the agreement reached with mobile network operators on 17 December 2014.

Gaming Machines

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the social risks associated with fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will bring forward proposals to reduce the maximum stake on such terminals.

Mrs Helen Grant: In December 2014 ​the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) published a package of research which looked at potential markers of harm in gaming machine play (including FOBTs). I have encouraged the bookmaking industry to take on board and respond to the findings of this research.New Regulations come into force on 6 April 2015 which will end unsupervised high stake gambling on FOBTs.

Schools: Sports

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will work with the Department for Education to take further steps to open schools sports facilities to the wider community.

Mrs Helen Grant: We are very keen that we get the most out of Government investment in school sports facilities and will continue to seek to increase opportunities. Sport England works with schools, local authorities and the Education Funding Agency to improve community access to such facilities. It has made available £400,000 per year to provide focused support for a number of schools in strategically important areas. It is investing £1 million in the Priority School Building Programme in 2015 to safeguard school sports facilities at schools that have been identified as being in urgent need of repair. Sport England will also shortly be launching an online resource to help more schools open up their facilities for community use.

Mass Media

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether social media news feeds are considered by Ofcom in their assessment of media plurality.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government has commissioned Ofcom to produce a measurement framework for media plurality. Ofcom work independently of Government and it is for Ofcom to develop the measurement framework, in consultation with industry. However I understand Ofcom will be publishing a consultation on the measurement framework shortly.

Department of Health

Social Services: Veterans

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reform the social care system so that veterans injured before 6 April 2005 do not have the cost of their care taken from their military compensation.

Norman Lamb: We are in the process of introducing fundamental reforms to how we pay for social care that will make the system fairer for everyone, including veterans. At the moment, someone who has the highest care needs can risk losing all they have to meet the cost of their care. These reforms will mean that, for the first time ever, everyone will be protected from the risk of catastrophic care costs. The proposals are currently out for consultation and can be found at: www.careact2016.dh.gov.uk The War Pensions Scheme, which provides no fault compensation for injury caused by Service before April 2005, includes certain allowances that were designed to pay for ongoing care costs and that is why it is has been taken into account under the social care charging rules. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, which provides no fault compensation for injury caused by Service after April 2005, operates differently. Officials in the Department are working with the Royal British Legion to review this issue and assess how the rules could be aligned in future to ensure fair treatment of veterans under both of these schemes.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) public dividend capital and (b) other non-tariff payments have been made to the Mid-Stafforshire NHS Foundation Trust in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12, (iv) 2012-13, (v) 2013-14 and (vi) 2014-15 to date.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many consultants have been employed by the Trust Special Administration (TSA) of the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust since its inception; how many person-days they have worked; what (a) accommodation, (b) travel, (c) subsistence and (d) other expenses they have incurred; and what other costs to the TSA they have incurred.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has provided to implement the recommendations of the Trust Special Administration of Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust on (a) capital investment in Stafford Hospital, (b) capital investment in Royal Stoke University Hospital, (c) capital investment in Cannock Hospital, (d) capital investment in New Cross Hospital, (e) other capital investment, (f) revenue support for the University Hospitals of the North Midlands NHS Trust, (g) revenue support for the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals Trust and (h) other revenue support.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department holds records of the total capital allocated to the respective recipient bodies as a result of the transfer of Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust services but does not have details of the breakdown by individual hospital site.   The capital provided to date is as follows:   The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust£12,109,000University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust£12,153,000Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust£4,000,000Grand Total£28,262,000   Revenue funding provided to date is set out in the following table:   The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust£32,420,000University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust£5,480,000Grand Total£37,900,000   The amount of public dividend capital issued to the Trust by the Department is as follows:   2009/10£214,0002010/11£02011/12£21,000,0002012/13£21,385,0002013/14£30,397,0002014/15£64,425,000   The Department does not hold central records of non-tariff payments made by local commissioning bodies to NHS providers.   The work of the trust special administrators (TSAs) to secure safe and sustainable services at Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust cost Monitor almost £19.5 million, including VAT, over 18 months.   The first phase of trust special administration cost £9 million, including expenses and VAT. During this phase there was a team of up to 30 members of staff who carried out three core tasks - to help to run the Trust, to design the future of services provided at Stafford and Cannock hospitals, and to run a large public consultation involving thousands of responses and a series of public meetings.   The second phase cost £10.5 million, including expenses and VAT. We are informed by Monitor that this second phase included a team of up to 50 people, which was required to continue to help run the hospital and implement the TSA’s recommendations.   We are also informed by Monitor that trust special administration at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust amounted to the rounded figure of 10,900 person-days for teams working on both phases of the process.   In the table below, expenses incurred during the TSA process are split by the two phases of the TSA and totals are also provided. These expenses include:   (a) accommodation; (b) travel (car, taxi and train); (c) subsistence; and (d) other expenses incurred; and what other costs to the TSA were incurred   Breakdown of expenses, these exclude VAT:TSA1TSA2TotalAccommodation£82,242.89£170,622.67£252,865.56Travel£144,122.38£226,600.29£370,722.67Subsistence£16,171.73£43,176.88£59,348.61Other (incidentals such as printing, room hire and meeting refreshments)£1,939.11£3052.73£4991.84Total£244,476.11£443,452.57£687,928.68

Hereditary Diseases

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2015 to Question 225464, if he will estimate the annual cost to the NHS of the implications of genetic inheritance birth defects.

Dr Daniel Poulter: There has been no assessment made of the annual cost to the National Health Service of the implications of genetic inheritance birth defects.

Derriford Hospital

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to assist Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust to deal with increased patient numbers at Derriford Hospital.

Jane Ellison: We are advised by NHS England that it has provided two tranches of resilience funding to Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust totalling £4,885,000, and that the Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has provided an additional £1,500,000 in recognition of the impact of the additional activity pressures.   The following actions have been taken to reduce demand to the hospital site and facilitate discharge from the hospital:   - Detailed Activity Management Plan agreed between the providers and the CCG which is being monitored through the integrated performance and assurance meeting process and the System Resilience Group/Urgent Care Partnership; - Additional investment to an in-hours general practitioner (GP)/paramedic visiting service in order to bring primary care visits forward in the day and stagger demand (demand reduction of c. 12 patients per day); - GP practice (30,000 patients) has been operating an in-hours visiting service and has reduced c. 12 admissions per month. This is continuing; - Establishment of an “alternative front door” to emergency department reduced in the region of 30 non-elective admissions in one week; - Increased consistency of minor injuries unit service across Devon to increase dispositions from 111, reducing accident and emergency attends; - 96 additional GP appointments per weekend funded from the Prime Ministers’ Challenge Fund; - £140,000 allocated through winter monies for 111 Clinical Streaming by Devon Doctors Ltd; and - Consistent use of the Special Patient Message (SPM) service with GP out-of-hours service to ensure SPMs are in place for at least the 2% of people.   The NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) advises that a number of steps are being taken to address increased demand, including opening 68 extra beds and increasing accident and emergency capacity through the use of Trust and agency staff.   NHS TDA further advises that a de-escalation plan has been developed by the Trust with the support of NHS England’s Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Area Team, and is intended to be submitted to the CCG shortly.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the amount (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Government has overhauled public procurement to open it up to businesses of all sizes. On 25 February 2015, we announced that central government spent an unprecedented £11.4 billion with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2013-14, a record 26.1% of direct and indirect spend. This meets our aspiration, set in 2010, that 25% of government procurement spend would be with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.   The data on central government spend with SMEs in 2013-14 is available on GOV.UK:   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014

Neuromuscular Disorders: North West

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on developing a neuromuscular managed clinical network for the North West region.

Norman Lamb: NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised services, including neuromuscular services.   Officials from NHS England’s North West Specialised Commissioning Team have recently met the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign to talk through the logistics of establishing an Operational Delivery Network for Neuromuscular Conditions in the North West. Operational Delivery Networks are one of two types of network replacing Managed Clinical Networks (the other being Strategic Clinical Networks) and are owned and led by providers, with commissioner support.

NHS: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on the NHS; and what conversations he has had with ministerial colleagues to discuss ways of ensuring that TTIP will not lead to further privisation of the NHS.

George Freeman: The Government is clear that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will not affect the way the National Health Service takes decisions about who best should provide NHS services.   This position has been confirmed by both the United States and European Union negotiators. Most recently, Cecilia Malmstrom, the European Commissioner for Trade, wrote to Lord Livingston at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to confirm that:   - Member States do not have to open public health services to competition from private providers, nor do they have to outsource services to private providers; - Member States are free to change their policies and bring outsourced services back into the public sector whenever they choose to do so, in a manner respecting property rights (which in any event are protected under UK law); and - It makes no difference whether a Member State already allows some services to be outsourced to private providers, or not. The Department is working closely with colleagues at BIS as the negotiations on TTIP progress.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of undisputed invoices his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid within five days in the last period for which figures are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The last period for which complete figures are available is the 2013-14 financial-year i.e. 12 months ended 31 March 2014. The table below details the proportion (%) of undisputed payments made, by individual body:   BodyProportion of invoices paid within 5 days(% to nearest 1%)Department of Health95Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency76Human Tissue Authority95Monitor92Public Health England81Care Quality Commission89NHS Litigation Authority13Health Education England2Health Research Authority6Health and Social Care Information Centre16National Institute for Health & Care Excellence6NHS Blood and Transplant24NHS Property Services0NHS Business Services Authority24NHS England54

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what requirements his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies place on suppliers in respect of their payment terms to subcontractors as part of their standard terms and conditions.

Dr Daniel Poulter: A full response to this question would require a review of all the terms and conditions held by the Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, which would incur disproportionate cost.   The Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are aware of the latest guidance around the prompt payment code and either have introduced or are introducing the new approach into their standard terms and conditions:   https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hancock-big-firms-should-pay-small-suppliers-in-30-days

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department is a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code and has done so on behalf of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.   However, no data is collected centrally on the proportion of suppliers providing goods and/or services to the Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, who have signed up to this code.

Dementia: Research

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement on 21 February 2015 of £300 million funding for research and medical innovations to tackle dementia, in what areas of research and medical innovation that funding will be spent.

George Freeman: As part of the Challenge on Dementia 2020, the Government made a commitment to maintain our current spend on dementia research of over £60 million a year. We have already doubled research spending from a baseline of £28.2 million in 2009/10. Some of the £300 million investment represents continuing expenditure on existing infrastructure, projects and research training. The remainder represents anticipated expenditure arising from successful funding applications. The National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council both welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including dementia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition. Research relating to dementia is also supported by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Billing

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies paid subcontractors within 30 days in the last period for which figures are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department does not collect separate prompt payment data related to subcontractors. It therefore places no obligation on its agencies and non-departmental public bodies to collect this type of data.

Hepatitis

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the implications for the risk of hepatitis A entering Britain in imported frozen food of the recent hepatitis A outbreak in Australia thought to be from frozen berries imported from China.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England has confirmed that there is currently no evidence of human cases of hepatitis A in England and Wales with the same strain as that seen in the Australian outbreak, thought to be linked to frozen berries from China.   The United Kingdom monitors the European Commission’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) to ensure that we are aware of any problems linked to consignments of Food of Non-Animal Origin (FNAO) arriving into the European Union from non-EU countries.   In addition, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has an early warning system in place to identify potential emerging risks from FNAO. If any of the data analysed suggests an increased risk to health from hepatitis A the FSA will advise Port Health Authorities (PHAs) to target their sampling to this risk at UK borders.

Nurses

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) acute, elderly and general nurses and (b) other qualified nurses have been employed in each NHS region in each Agenda for Change band in each year since 2009-10.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre latest monthly workforce statistics show that there are now over 7,500 more nurses, midwives and health visitors working in the National Health Service than May 2010.   The attached table shows the number of nurses, midwives and health visitors and separately the number of acute, elderly and general nurses in each NHS region in each Agenda for Change band since 2009. 



Number of nurses, midwives  and health visitors
(Excel SpreadSheet, 70.86 KB)

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation his Department carried out with mental health trusts on the 4 March 2015 deadline for decisions on payment tariff options; and what representations his Department has received on an extension to that deadline.

Norman Lamb: Monitor and NHS England are responsible for setting the National Tariff Payment System arrangements, including for mental health.   Monitor and NHS England undertook a period of rapid engagement with National Health Service commissioners and providers, following a period of statutory consultation, on alternative national tariff options for 2015/16. Monitor and NHS England wrote to chief executives of providers of NHS-funded care and NHS England wrote to clinical leaders in clinical commissioning groups setting out the details of these options.   The letter to all chief executives of providers of NHS-funded care on the tariff arrangements for 2015/16 activity is published on Monitor’s website at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tariff-arrangements-for-your-201516-nhs-activity   The letter issued by NHS England and the co-chairs of NHS clinical commissioners can be viewed on NHS England’s website at:   http://www.england.nhs.uk/2015/02/19/tariff-2015/   The list of providers choosing the Enhanced Tariff Option can be found at:   www.gov.uk/government/news/most-nhs-providers-opt-for-enhanced-tariff-for-201516   The Department was made aware of correspondence to Monitor and NHS England from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Shelford Group, which represents 10 NHS trusts and foundation trusts, about the tariff options. No representations were received specifically about extending the 4 March deadline for responses.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinical commissioning groups have announced their funding allocation to mental health services for 2015-16.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will take steps to ensure that all clinical commissioning groups offer all mental health trusts the additional mental health investment set out in December 2014 planning guidance Forward View into Action; and how many mental health trusts have received this investment to date.

Norman Lamb: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are working with their local provider organisations to agree commissioning plans for 2015/16. This will include negotiating local financial agreements for 2015/16 with mental health providers. The National Tariff Payment System arrangements will influence these negotiations.   Monitor and NHS England undertook a period of rapid engagement with National Health Service providers on alternative National Tariff Payment System arrangements for 2015/16 and providers had until 4 March to decide which tariff options to adopt for 2015/16.   CCGs will submit their commissioning plans for 2015/16 to NHS England later in the spring.   CCGs are responsible for funding local health services based on the needs of their communities. NHS England published planning guidance for 2015/16 for commissioners which made the expectation clear that each CCG’s spending on mental health services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least the same percentage as each CCG’s allocation increase.   NHS England will assure CCG commissioning plans for 2015/16 after they have been submitted.

Health Services: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what analysis of financial risk to the (a) Greater Manchester councils, (b) Greater Manchester Hospital trusts and (c) Greater Manchester clinical commissioning groups his Department has made during Manchester NHS devolution negotiations.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that NHS England and his Department assist the Greater Manchester NHS system with additional financial support in the event of year-end budget deficits being accrued under the Manchester devolution proposal.

Norman Lamb: In formulating their proposals for more integrated local decision-making, the clinical commissioning groups and local authorities in Greater Manchester, together with NHS England, are seeking amongst other benefits to secure more efficient and economic use of the financial resources available for commissioning health and care services for their local population.   The relevant statutory organisations will be responsible for ensuring that any joint or delegated commissioning arrangements enable them to remain accountable for fulfilling their duties in relation to managing financial resources. The Government has no plans to alter the existing responsibilities of the relevant statutory bodies in this respect.

Obesity: Birmingham

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) women, (b) men and (c) children were (i) overweight and (ii) obese in Birmingham, Northfield constituency (A) in total and (B) in each ward.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England does not hold data on the number of adults who are classified as overweight and obese by ward or constituency.   Data on Childhood obesity at a sub-national level for England are collected through the National Childhood Measurement Programme for two school year groups Reception (4-5 year olds) and Year 6 (10-11 years olds).   Due to the small numbers of children classified as overweight and obese at ward level the data within the table are presented as a total figure for the 3 year period 2010/11 to 2012/13. Year R (4-5 year olds)Year 6 (10-11 year olds)  OverweightObeseOverweightObese Ward NameNumber%Number%Number%Number%E05001191Kings Norton15616.0%11111.4%16622.7%11215.3%E05001194Longbridge17415.8%11110.1%17020.1%13115.5%E05001198Northfield11513.6%799.3%14723.0%12119.0%E05001217Weoley14215.3%10311.1%17624.4%11616.1% Total58715.3%40410.5%65922.5%48016.4%

Ministers' Private Offices

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether any photographs of religious leaders are displayed in the offices of ministers in his Department.

Dr Daniel Poulter: There is one photograph of the Secretary of State meeting Pope Benedict XVI in Ministerial Private Office.

Greater Manchester Strategic Health and Social Care Partnership Board

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Greater Manchester Strategic Health and Social Care Partnership Board will be accountable to (a) the Secretary of State for Health and (b) Parliament under the Manchester NHS devolution plan.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Greater Manchester Strategic Health and Social Care Partnership Board will be directly accountable to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority under the Manchester NHS devolution plan.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Greater Manchester Strategic Health and Social Care Partnership Board will be directly accountable to the individual local authorities under the Manchester NHS devolution plan.

Norman Lamb: NHS England and clinical commissioning groups, as statutory National Health Service organisations, will remain accountable for meeting the full range of their statutory duties. The fundamental national policies, inspection regimes, guidance and regulations will continue to apply to Greater Manchester.   The Secretary of State will remain ultimately accountable to Parliament for the provision of a comprehensive health service in England, including Greater Manchester.